A New Day Has Come
by SkyyRyder
Summary: COMPLETED x Reid isn't the person that everyone thinks he is. He is a young man fighting depression and a dangerous habit. Reid falls in to a darkness to be awakened by a new light. Will this new light help him become the person that he knows he is?
1. Prologue

_**Warning**: This story will contain language (if you haven't noticed now, I have a very bad cursing problem), angst (adult/teen), self-harm, suicide (more or less talk & thoughts of such), and probably some adult scenes to come. So, you have been warned._

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**A/N: **The idea for this story sort of came to me last night while I was watching 'So You Think You Can Dance'... Jean-Marc Genereaux choreographed a beautiful Viennes Waltz to Celine Dion's 'A New Day Has Come' which inspired the title of this story. I was going to wait to post this up after I finished one of my other stories, but I decided to go ahead and post it.

The Prologue is short, but the first Chapter is completed and waiting for reviews.

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**A New Day Has Come**_  
Written by Skyy Ryder_

**Prologue**

He didn't remember when he first started feeling like this. It had been a long time, even before the Power took him over at thirteen. Perhaps it was after his father passed away, maybe before then. He just didn't feel things that most people felt.

He had never felt guilty, he had never felt unadulterated happiness, and he had never felt passionate, unspeakable love for another person. Sadness, anger, and hate… all emotions he had felt before, and felt for most of his life.

He felt like his emotions stopped there, everything that he portrayed to them was fake, his happiness, his joking nature, everything seemed so false. Even the image he projected was false these days. Sure, he had started off that way at the beginning, but now he used to keep with the rumors, to keep with his reputation.

He as just another one of them. He was just a Son of Ipswich. That's all he'd ever be known as in this town.

Could he ever truly be happy with the idea of being one of four? Not just who he was. Not just the person he wanted to be, but a four piece of a whole? Could they survive without him?

Yes.

They could survive without him and he could probably survive without them.

But the forces that be told them otherwise; they told the four Sons that they had to be friends, that they had to get along, and they had to follow the Laws of the Covenant. He never really had anything against rules, but sometimes they were meant to be broken.

They all had different likes, and wants, but he couldn't deny the fact that he loved them as if they were his own brothers. But even brothers had to part every now and then, and he figured maybe it was a good time for that.

It may hurt for awhile, he knew that it might. But they'd get over, they'd move on. They would have to.

He just needed to get away from the labels, get away from everything that they say he is. Start over, wipe the slate clean, and perhaps for once in his life be who he really was.

_Reid Garwin._

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**I think this story is going to have a bit of a darker feel, more angsty (think Damaged)... and I just want to see who's interested. So please let me know.**


	2. Not Too Late

**A/N:** I've come to find out that the first couple of chapters of this story are a lot shorter than my other stories are. But they just seem like the right place to stop at. So I've gotten a couple of reviews and I hope to get more (because I'm an ego maniac and need the love ;))

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**Chapter 01 – Not Too Late**

Reid's long, pale fingers laced around the neck of the bottle, a content smirk on his face as he brought the mouth to his own and swallowed what was left of the amber liquid inside. He stared at the screen before him, and blinked his eyes, the channel changing as he did so.

The door to his dorm room flew open and his roommate walked in, the tanned boy let his backpack slide off of his shoulder and on to the ground by a huge heap of clothes, which belonged to the blonde himself.

Blue eyes met his dark ones and Tyler gave him a glare, "You shouldn't be using so much, Reid…" His voice was stern, making him sound an awful lot like the eldest member of their little clique. "You ascend in two weeks,"

The blonde didn't say anything instead he let his eyes fall in to their normal pale blue color tossing the empty bottle in to the waste basket by the door. His arm rested over the side of the bed, absentmindedly searching for something.

Tyler noticed and walked over grabbing the last bottle of Jack that was sitting by his best friend's bed. Reid's blue gaze cut up at his best friend and stared him down before opening his mouth.

"What the fuck, Ty?" Reid sat up snatching for the bottle.

"What is going on with you, Reid?" Tyler's voice was full of concern as he held the bottle away from his best friend.

"Nothing, I'm just enjoying a few drinks with myself," Reid muttered, his tone was dull, and not the usual tone for the blonde Son of Ipswich.

Tyler's eyebrows knitted together in confusion, he was beginning to notice this behavior more and more. Reid had never really been one of those generally happy kids, he always seemed to have something plaguing him, but whenever Tyler asked about it, Reid would shut him out.

Just like he was doing now.

They were best friends and did practically everything together, but it seemed as though there had been a riff in their relationship. Things seemed to only worsen as the boy's birthday neared them.

Tyler had tried to use to get in to Reid's mind, to just see what was bothering him, but Reid had it blocked off. He knew what his friends would try and do and he was keeping them from finding out the truth. He didn't want them to see what was going on in his mind.

"Reid, I know there is something wrong, why can't you tell me?" Tyler asked trying to keep his emotions at bay.

He was generally the more emotional one of the group. Maybe it was because his father was never home, and his mother raised him. Maybe it was because he was the youngest, whatever the reason he usually wore his emotions out on his sleeve.

Reid ignored him, his eyes going black as a bottle of Jack Daniels materialized in his hand. He tossed Tyler an annoyed glance and the brunette irritated walked to his desk and put the bottle down. He pulled his chair out and reached down to his backpack, pulling out his homework.

Two could play this game, Tyler decided.

Reid's attention drifted over to his best friend, a part of him wanted to tell Tyler exactly what was on his mind, but the another part of him told him that the blue eyed boy wouldn't understand. He was all alone in this feeling and the fact that his birthday was less than fourteen days away, was making matters worse.

He couldn't have Ty made at him, he knew it would eat away at the younger boy and sighed sitting up, putting his bottle off to the side, "I'm sorry man," Reid muttered.

Tyler looked up from his work, "I'm sorry, what'd you say?" Tyler asked putting the pencil behind his ear, waiting for him to say it louder.

"You're an ass," Reid mustered up a grin as Tyler shot him a guilty grin.

"Learned from the best, Mr. Garwin…" Tyler stated mockingly as he turned around to see Reid staring dully at the TV. "You wanna go to Nicky's?" He asked.

Reid looked up to meet his best friend's gaze and decided he'd amuse the younger boy for awhile, "Sure man, call up Cal and Pogo, see if they want to go…" Reid muttered rolling his tall frame out of the twin size bed.

Tyler nodded his head sending a text to both of the older Sons' inviting them to Nicky's with them. Reid grabbed a shirt from his chair and took a whiff of it, feeling that it was cleaning he pulled off his white beater tank and slipped in to the grey graphic tee.

Tyler grabbed his wallet and his keys and waited for Reid to pull on his black beanie and fingerless gloves. He remembered the first time Reid had started wearing the gloves, and why. The thought made Tyler's stomach turn, and he hoped that his best friend was better.

After the incident, as Reid referred to it, he had gotten accustomed to wearing them, and liked what they did for his character. Tyler felt the need to get down to the bottom of whatever was bothering his best friend, and he hoped that when he did find out it wasn't too late.

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**REVIEW, please... pretty please... I'll make you some cookies! :)**


	3. Darkness

**A/N: **I'm going to be gone all weekend, so I decided to post this up since I'm leaving for Ocala now... I hope you guys are enjoying this!

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**Chapter 02 – Darkness**

Blonde lashes fell over onyx colored eyes, the air around him whirled rapidly around him; books, papers, and miscellaneous objects whipped around him his jaw set, his fist clamped the rage within him finally settled down. Blinking the onyx faded to a natural crystal blue.

He had come home for the weekend, something that he didn't do on a normal basis. He liked to stay as far away from this hell hole as possible. Something egged him to come here though; in the back of his mind he felt compelled to come home.

Walking through the door he knew it had been a mistake. The house was dark; there wasn't an ounce of light as he stepped through the foyer. It was until he was in good view of a room he hadn't dare go in since his father's death that he finally saw light.

The door was ajar and the light on his desk was leaking in to the hallway. He slowly entered the room that had once housed all of his father's works. From his best cases to his artwork, the room was like a shrine to Joseph Garwin.

A pair of dulling blue eyes set on him, his jaw clenched seeing the bottle of amber liquid sitting in a cup, a bottle of prescription pills lying next to it, its contents spread across the mahogany desk. The blonde tightened his hands in to fists as he stormed out of the room.

He came home to this.

Every time he came home, this is what he saw. His mother strung out on her pain medication, or on her anti-depressants that she mixed with booze. She never talked to him, didn't dare look at her own son for more than five minutes.

"_It hurts,"_ She had said once to him after he asked her why. He had only been twelve then, and she told him that it hurt her too much to look at him.

He reminded her too much of his father; a man who lead a selfish life. Reid looked and acted just like him and it drove Meredith Garwin to the brink. He had watched for the last eight years as she drank and pill-popped her way through the pain.

Reid pressed his eyes shut, trying to will away the thoughts of yesteryears and the pain that it had all caused him. He slammed his fist in to a nearby wall and didn't feel the pain. He had been drinking. He had washed away his sorrows, like his mother had.

He summoned the power and his room went back to the way it was before he had decided to tear it apart; an in a blink there was a bottle materialized on his dresser. He grabbed it and tore the lid off, gulping down the contents not bothering to wince as it burned its way down his throat.

What had driven him to this point again? He asked himself as he stared over at the stand beside his bed. What was causing this insatiable urge to pick it up one more time?

To slide it across and let the pain seep out on to the wooden floor like he had so many times before?

His fingers grasped the bottle one more time, slinging his head back as the liquid burned his throat, but eased the pain that he felt internally. He bit his lip hard after setting the bottle on the nightstand, a shaky hand reaching out to pull open the top drawer.

_Just one more time_, he thought to himself. _Just for ol' time's sake. _

He wanted the pain he felt, the anger, the remorse to go away. That's when he saw it, lying there as it had so many other times. Shiny, sharp and begging to be used.

Just one little cut; one little scratch to make it all go away.

"For tonight," He muttered to himself.

He wrapped his long, bony fingers around the silver piece of metal. He hadn't used it in a long time, Tyler had caught him. Tyler asked him to get help, he had been genuinely concerned, as had Caleb and Pogue when they found out.

He had been embarrassed for them to find out, but knew that it would have happened sooner or later. He hadn't told them the full truth then, and he never planned on it. It was something he felt like he couldn't share, because they just wouldn't understand.

_Not with their perfect lives_, he thought bitterly.

Taking a deep breath, he took the blade and with one swift movement he let the razor sharp edge bite across his scarred wrist. He winced slightly; he had felt the knick for the first time in a long time. It was sharp, and nearly brought him to a sober state of mind.

He didn't feel that immediate release that he had always felt when he cut. Taking the blade in to his opposing hand he took another deep breath and let it slice his less frequented wrist to relieve the pressure. Dropping the blade he felt the warm sensation down his arms, the blood flowing freely down his arms.

His eyes grew heavy, and he couldn't see straight anymore. He let out a ragged cough feeling his entire body shutting down; the only thing he could remember was a guy's voice shouting his name, before everything slipped in to darkness.

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**Please remember to review!**


	4. Freak Show

**A/N: **Back from a long weekend; but fulfilling nonetheless! I came back with some chapters, and I hope this will hold you over until I can update again! :)

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**Chapter 03 – Freak Show**

His eyes fluttered open, he felt the pain in his wrists, and he felt the pain behind his eyes, the throbbing in his head making it hard for him to keep his eyes open. A stream of light hit his pale face from the open window next to him.

"You're awake," An unfamiliar voice said from next to him.

He fought to turn his head, and with as much strength as he could muster up he had finally done so. His pale blue eyes took in the rest of the room around him. Everything was white; from the walls, to the floor, to the blankets on the bed. A hospital bed.

He felt a lump in his throat as his eyes darted to the person next to him.

"Where am I?" His words were muttered, laced with sleep.

"Gloucester Hospital," The voice stated calmly, a ruffle of dark brown hair surrounded the face that was speaking.

"Why?" He tried to push himself up but felt the shooting pains in his arms.

He glanced down horror stricken seeing the white gauze wrapped around his wrists, small red spots seeping through and staring at him. A brutal slap to reality.

"You're a cutter, not suicidal…" The voice looked up at him, soft brown eyes grabbing his blue gaze.

"I'm not suicidal…" The blonde stated clearing his throat uncomfortably.

"I know that, you know that… but they don't…" A sharp chin lifted in the direction of the door.

"Who the hell are you?" He asked rudely changing the subject.

"You're roommate for the next seventy-two hours,"

"Excuse me?" His face fell; he did not want to be trapped in this bed, in this place for three days. Where the hell was his mother, or his _brothers_? How the hell did he get here in the first place?

"Anyone who comes to Gloucester Hospital, hell any hospital…" Reid's eyes flickered over his roommate's body and he felt his jaw clench seeing the similarly wrapped bandages around her wrists. "With these kinds of cuts," The same bandaged wrists were held up in the air for him to see. "Are put on suicide watch and have to go under evaluation before they're released…"

"I'm not suicidal…" The blonde repeated angrily.

"But you are a cutter," The unnamed roommate pointed out resting their had back in to the plush pillows.

Not wanting to answer the question, seeing as how the person already knew the answer, he decided to change the subject, "What's your name?"

"Isobel," His roommate responded.

"Reid," He replied back dully.

"I know, I talked to the boy that brought you in here for a few minutes,"

"A boy?" The blonde's eyebrow quirked up at the sound of this.

"Cute guy, about your height probably, tan, blue eyes, brown hair… adorable smile…" She looked over at him. "I think he said his name was Tyler,"

"Ty," Reid let his best friend's name roll off of his tongue.

"Friend of yours?" She asked.

Reid glanced over at her, "Yeah, best friend, actually…" His voice was low as he spoke.

"He seemed really concerned, you done this before?" She questioned.

"What is this? An interrogation?" Reid asked rudely.

Her mouth snapped shut and she narrowed her eyes over at the boy, "Just because you're pissed off at the world for some unbeknownst reason doesn't make it ok to snap at me, you asshole…" She barked at him.

Reid's scowl was replaced with a smirk, the girl lying the bed next to him wasn't as sweet and innocent as she had looked lying their, her skin pale, though it looked like it was usually kissed by the sun, her hair in disarray and a look of contempt on her face. She was a little spitfire.

He sat back in his pillows and ignored her, as she did him.

_So much for trying to make friends_, the girl thought rolling her eyes as she changed the channel on the TV in front of her.

An hour later, Isobel had watched as Reid drifted in and out of sleep. Several nurses and the doctor on duty had come in to check his vitals, give him a few aspirin and listened to him beg for them to let him go. He had told them he wasn't suicidal, tried to convince them that it as an accident.

They didn't give him a second glance; they had heard it all before.

Isobel smirked to herself keeping her eyes closed; only opening them every now and then to get a peek at her handsome neighbor. She couldn't resist the urge she felt to check him out. Though half of his body was submerged under the unflattering bed sheets that adorned the hospital beds, she could tell he was tall, and lean.

His blonde hair stuck to his forehead, and in to those mesmerizing blue eyes.

"Oh God Reid, are you alright?" The voice belonged to a bubbling blonde that leapt through the door and tossed herself at Reid, several other forms following in closely behind him.

Isobel smirked and shook her head; of course her gorgeous roommate would have an equally gorgeous girlfriend. She laughed at the thought, who was she kidding anyway. She had tried to befriend the guy, tried to be nice, and he was a complete ass to her. She shrugged her shoulders and watched the three guys and two girls that had come in surround his bed.

"Hey Boston," His voice cracked slightly as he forced a small smile.

"When'd you wake up?" Tyler asked his face full of concern.

"About an hour and half ago…" Reid shot him a dirty look.

"How you feeling?" The long haired guy asked his voice was low, and Isobel could tell that the five people that just walked in to the room were very close to the blonde boy.

"I feel like I got run over by a fuckin' Mack truck, how do you think Pogue?" The blonde snapped at his friend.

The longe haired boy, known as Pogue pursed his lips together as the dark haired girl next to him, put her hand on his shoulder. Another good looking one with an amazingly beautiful girlfriend, Isobel deducted. Her eyes drifted to the girl and the dark haired boy, the only unnamed subjects in the room now.

She felt nosey for listening to their conversation, but she had been trapped in this hospital bed for a week and it was killing her. She needed some kind of human contact, that wasn't from a doctor or nurse.

"You scared the hell out of us, don't do it again…" The dark haired girl reached over and smacked the tall boy on the thigh. The blonde jumped and shot her a glare.

"Jesus Kate, abuse the hospitalized…" He smirked at her.

"Reid, you don't have to pretend with us man," The dark haired boy stated his voice monotone, not showing any emotion at all.

"I'm not pretending, dude…" Reid gave him a charming smile, as he talked light heartedly with his friends.

Isobel sat back quietly as she watched them filter out, the blonde she had learned wasn't Reid's girlfriend, it as actually the dark haired, monotone friend's girlfriend, whom she learned was Caleb. From their conversation she learned that they were from Ipswich, just south of Gloucester.

After a few minutes the boy known as Tyler walked back in the room and she saw Reid's demeanor change. He snapped at his friend as soon as he made sure the others weren't around.

"Why did you bring me here Ty?" Reid barked at him.

"Reid, I found you on the ground in your room…" Tyler's voice got low as he glanced over at Isobel who let out a heavy sigh as if she were sleeping. "There was blood everywhere, you're lucky I got you here as fast as I did…"

Isobel popped an eye open to see the dark haired boy give her roommate a knowing look. She wondered what that was about; Reid glanced over and saw her looking. He growled lowly and pulled the curtain so that she couldn't see them.

"Well fuck, now I'm stuck here for seventy-two fucking hours, Ty…"

"Reid, we're all worried about you, I thought you quit…" Tyler stated clearing his throat, his voice low.

"I did, but for some reason last night… I just. I don't fucking know, I just wanted to do it…"

Tyler raked a hand through his hair, "Were you… were you trying to kill yourself?"

Reid's eyes grew wide as he looked at his best friend in shock, "No man, I wasn't trying to off myself…"

Tyler took a deep breath, "Good," He seemed relieved.

"Look man, I'm tired… I'll see you later, ok?" Reid leaned back in to his pillows. "Make sure you come and see me tomorrow, skip school or something, because I can't fucking be in here for three days without some human contact."

Tyler lifted his chin, motioning to the other side of the curtain, Reid snickered, "Please, I don't mean some suicide hotline chick…"

Isobel was still listening and she knew he was talking about her, she swallowed hard and let her fingers trail over the white gauze that was pink from the blood. It was hard not to reopen the wounds during the day, with all the moving around she was doing.

"I'll drop by tomorrow and see you, bring you some real food or something," He stated.

After a few more words between the two, she watched Mr. Blue Eyes leave. She sighed not being able to sleep. She didn't know what else she could do.

Reid cut the curtain back and shot her a look.

"What the fuck is your problem?" He asked rudely.

"Wh-"

He didn't let her finish, "You fucking have no life so you're eavesdropping on mine, real nice freak show…" Reid barked.

Isobel winced at his words; she never knew one person could be so hurtful. She stared at him for a second and cut the curtain back on her side of the room. She didn't want anything to do with that asshole, and to think she actually found him attractive; his nasty attitude just made him a -10 on her scale.

Reid sunk back in to his bed and stared at the white wall in front of him, he wanted to get the hell out of there. He couldn't. He decided. There were guards outside of the door; he had seen them when the guys had come in to check on him.

He was sure there were guards all over who wouldn't let a blonde with bandaged arms free. He glanced down at the gauze; he must have cut deeper than he thought. He used his right hand to unravel the gauze on his left.

Slowly he unwrapped his wound and let the gauze fall to the ground, the blood had seeped through, but the nurse came in and changed it about an hour ago, after he had woken up.

Blue eyes gazed upon t he large slice that adorned his wrist. He inspected it, remembered the pain he felt through the numbness of the whiskey. He had felt it sting for the first time, was that a sign?

He had cut deeper than normal; Tyler had Used to get him to the hospital so quickly so he wouldn't die.

He glanced over at the pulled curtain and felt something in his chest that he hadn't felt before. He shouldn't have been so rude to the girl next to him. He probably shouldn't have called her a suicide hotline chick, or a freak show.

If anyone was a freak show… it was him.

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**I have posted a character concept of Isobel in my profile. Hope you all enjoyed; REVIEW... please?!**


	5. Baffled

**A/N: **Reid plays nice here... woohoo... I like when he's nice. But I like when he's an ass... isn't that sad?

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**Chapter 04 – Baffled **

A few hours had passed, Reid had tried to get back to sleep but he couldn't. He hated the feelings that were rushing through him. He was nervous, he had never been nervous in his life. He felt guilty for being so damned rude to the girl next to him, and he had never felt that way before, about anything. He was upset and angry, both things he had felt before, but not for the same reasons.

"Isobel," His voice was rough and shaky as he said her name.

He waited a beat, she didn't respond, he couldn't say that he blamed her either.

"Isobel, I'm-I'm sorry about earlier…." He apologized, another thing that he didn't do on a normal basis, if at all.

Isobel looked over at the curtain and took a deep breath; he didn't seem like a boy that apologized often. She cleared her throat and pulled the curtain back, but decided to be a bit cold towards him.

"I don't want your sympathies…" She barked at him, crossing her arms over her chest.

"I'm not offering them," Reid snapped. She glared over at him and his hard look softened, "I was just apologizing for being an ass…" He cleared his throat. "It's sort of in my nature,"

"I figured that out," She remarked dryly.

"So, why are you here?" He asked, he looked at her wrists and already knew that it was a stupid question.

"Unlike you, I did try to off myself…" She stated using his terminology. "However, I didn't call a suicide hotline first…"

"Yeah, about that…" He sucked in a deep breath.

"It's fine… really…" She held up a hand. "I've been called much worse than a suicide hotline chick and a freak show…"

Reid was quite, simply nodding his head. He didn't know what else to say to her. What do you say to a suicidal chick that didn't succeed in killing herself? He sat back in his chair and turned on his TV. He had made his peace with her, he didn't really have to talk to her now did he?

Seventy-two hours.

That was a long time he realized after the next hour ticked by. Another nurse had come in to change both of their bandages and Reid growled when the pain killers started to wear off. The nurse gave him some more and he happily took them with the water provided to him.

"Still giving you the good stuff," Isobel piped up after the nurse left.

Reid looked over at her, "What?"

"They won't give it to me anymore," She sighed resting back in to her hard hospital bed.

"Why not?"

Isobel glanced over at him and smirked, "Wouldn't you like to know,"

Reid glanced over at her; his naturally ice blue eyes were darker than normal as he glared over at her. He was trying to be nice and here she was stonewalling him from answers. He shook his head and rolled his eyes sitting back.

"Actually, no… I don't want to know…" He remarked dully as he flipped through the channels.

Time seemed to pass by slowly, it had only been twenty minutes since his rude response and she was already getting fidgety again.

"How come I haven't seen your parents in here yet?" Isobel asked out of the blue.

"How come I haven't seen yours?" Reid responded not taking his eyes off of the TV.

Isobel was quiet and turned her attention back to her television. This was going to be the longest three days of her life.

Minutes ticked away slowly, and Isobel grew tired but she felt restless and she turned on her side to see Reid staring up at the ceiling.

"I tried to overdose on the painkillers…" She told him staring over at his limp figure.

Reid's eyes moved from the spot on the ceiling to the brown eyed girl lying in on the bed beside his. His brow knitted with interest wondering what was so terrible in her life that she wanted to die.

"How long have you been here?" He asked her.

"This is my second week," She shrugged her shoulders.

"What happened to seventy-two hours?"

"I was in the hospital before I tried to kill myself,"

"Why?" Reid asked sitting up in his bed, he swung his pale legs over the side.

"Like you really want to know," She rolled her eyes and laid back down on her back. "I know you're kind Reid." She smirked.

Reid glared at her shortly, how could she think she knew his kind? How could she possible grasp who he was as a person, or not? He worried his lip as her eyes cut back up to meet his.

"You're rich," She smirked. "Old money," She specified. "Mommy and Daddy sent you to a pretentious private school…" She nailed it on the head so far, he thought, "You're neglected, probably live on campus," She mused running her fingers over the metal guardrail on her hospital bed. "You've been in some kind of shell your entire life and for some reason unbeknownst to you, you can't even open up to your best friends…" She sighed. "Even though you've known them you're entire life…"

"Are you a part-time psychic?" He asked with a low chuckle.

"I can read people," She shrugged her shoulders. "I also see that either one of, or both of, your parents is an alcoholic… maybe even dabbles in drugs…" She sat up on her elbows.

Reid sat their quietly, not wanting to give away the answers, his eyes were dark. She sat up and swung her legs over the side. For the first time he got a glimpse of her legs. He licked his lips as the tanned legs flexed as she reached for the ground, her tiptoes hitting the cold ceramic floor.

He noticed that on the nicely tanned skin, the toned muscles were scared. Cuts were up and down her legs and she glanced down seeing what he saw. She smirked and closed her knees together tightly, her hands gripping the edge of the bed.

"I used to be a cutter too," She smirked at him.

Reid was silent; there was something in him that wanted to know everything about this girl. She was so intriguing to him. He wanted to know why she was here in the hospital, why had she tried to kill herself, why had she mutilated those fabulous legs.

"Isobel," Her name fell off of his tongue, the slight hint of his New England accent picking up as he looked up at her.

He had never felt like this about a girl. He never wanted to know their ins and outs, but this time. This time it seemed like so much more than just that. He didn't want to get in her pants, he didn't want to fuck her and then leave her.

Was his dark past crumbling before him? Just by this mousy little girl that was in the bed next to him. With her lightly tanned skin, her scared legs and bandaged wrists?

"Yes?" She asked her light brown eyes catching his gaze.

"Why did you try and kill yourself? What could possibly be that bad?" He asked trying not to sound to harsh.

"It's complicated," She stated softly shaking her head. "I really don't want to talk about it,"

"Is it that bad?" He asked standing up, it was the first time he had tried to stand since being in the hospital and his head started to spin; he reached back and held on to the rail of the bed.

"It could be worse," She mustered up her eyes wide as he nearly fell down.

She jumped down and grabbed his arms, holding him up, though he weight more than her. Her touch, he noticed, was soft, gently and caring. Her eyes, they had flecks of gold and bits of green dancing around the irises.

"Are you ok?" She whispered her voice low, her breath on his neck.

Reid found his bearings and nodded his head, standing up on his own two feet, tough he didn't ask her to let go of his arms. He liked the feel of skin-on-skin, it was soothing to him. For once, it wasn't sexual.

"Sorry," He muttered. "I guess all my motor skills are seriously lacking now," He gave her a forced grin.

"You scared me," She admitted letting her fingers trail down his biceps, moving slowly down to his elbow, to his forearms, and finally gently touching his wrists before letting go.

Reid stared down at her; he was about a foot taller than her small frame, but the way she looked up at him. The look on her face showed that she was concerned, showed that even though they had only just met, she cared for him.

"My father's dead," He whispered lowly.

Isobel's gaze had rested on the ground until he said that statement, her eyes snapped back up to look at him, "Reid's I'm sorry to hear that…" She stated feeling instinctively bad for questioning why he was here. "I shouldn't have analyzed you like I did… I nearly implied that you were a lonely rich boy crying out for help…"

Reid shook his head, he put a finger to her lips, "You were partially right," He stated shaking his head. "He did when I was young,"

"That's terrible," She murmured stepping back from him.

Reid grabbed her hand in his and stopped her from moving away, "He pretty much killed himself,"

He was being evasive, she could see that, but she wasn't going to pressure him in to saying anything else if he didn't want to. They were getting some where, they were learning about each other. She could tell by the way he acted with his friends that he didn't do that often.

He didn't let people in; he didn't let people see who he really was.

"What about your mother?" She whispered the question, lacing her fingers with his.

Reid glanced down at her small fingers that were now holding on to him tightly, just one hand. They were free of his overly presence fingerless gloves, and for once, he didn't mind. He let a small smile spread across his face at the touch of her skin to his.

The small intimate gesture, that she might not have thought much of, but it started to warm a small place inside of him.

"She's a pill-popping alcoholic… as you described her…" Reid's eyebrows lifted, she frowned, she hated being right about things. "When I was old enough to live in the dorms she made sure it happened; though I didn't put up much of a fight…"

"God, I'm sorry… I should have kept my big mouth shut," She worried her bottom lip.

Reid smiled taking a seat back on his bed, never dropping her hand that was in his, "It's ok…"

"We should probably get some sleep..." Isobel whispered her eyes searching his for the approval.

Reid nodded his head, she went to release his hand when he pulled her back, "Tomorrow, you tell me about yours…" He stated in a stern tone.

Isobel flashed him a toothy grin and simply nodded before returning back to her bed.

The blonde boy laid down in his bed and looked over at her, she carefully placed herself in her bed and covered her body with the blankets. It wasn't too cold in the room, which surprised him, usually he was freezing in hospitals.

His mind raced, what had caused him to open up to her?

He never bared anything to anyone, not even Tyler… and he was his best friend.

She knew what it as like, Reid decided. She knew what it was like to be misunderstood, and here she was lying next to him. The one person that he might be able to tell everything to, and she couldn't blab it around Spenser, she didn't know his friends, and by the looks of her lonesome log she didn't have many visitors.

That last thought made Reid feel bad, how such a pretty girl like herself could not have any visitors. No boyfriend, no friends… no one. It baffled him, and he'd be sure to ask her about it tomorrow, after he rested.

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**If you liked it, let me know, if you hate it... let me know... but in a nice way... :)**


	6. Liking Her

**A/N: **Great response on this story; I'm really enjoying this side of Reid. I like him all angsty and everything, it's kinda hot. Anywho, enjoy.

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**Chapter 05 – Liking Her**

The next morning Reid woke up with the light from outside shining in on him. A small smile plastered on his face as he looked over at the bed next to him. The smile slowly faded when he noticed that the bed was empty.

"Ah, Mr. Garwin, up and at'em, are ya?" The southern nurse came in with a large grin on her face. "How ya feelin' this mornin'?" She questioned.

"Fine, where's Isobel?" He asked glancing over at the empty hospital bed.

"Oh, Miss Brady is in her treatment for the mornin' she should be back in the next hour or so…" The nurse stated checking Reid's vitals and then changing his gauze.

He didn't ask any further questions, he figured she was having some kind of counseling or something for her suicide attempt, or attempts. His mind began to race, he wondered if he'd have to talk to a counselor, or if he'd have to have some kind of weird treatment.

The nurse watched as the look on the young boy's face changed from concern, to worry, to discomfort. She smiled and touched his arm.

"Don't worry boy, it's for her NHL…" The woman had a warm smile; she took his chart and left the room.

_NHL?_ Reid questioned himself. _What the heck did her suicide have to do with hockey?_

The question plagued his mind until a familiar face came through the door of his room, though it didn't settle his mind any at all. Tyler took a seat next to his best friend and gave him a worried glance. It looked like there was a lot on the blonde Sons mind.

"What's up Reid?"

"My roommate," He lifted his chin to the empty bed.

"The cute girl you were totally shunning yesterday?" Tyler asked raising an eyebrow.

"That's my…" Reid stopped himself and looked away form Tyler.

"You're what?" Tyler grinned stupidly.

"My roommate, don't talk about her…" Reid ordered.

Tyler's smirk mirrored one that Reid would often give the boy. Especially when he knew something the brunette didn't know. Reid shook his head and rested back in to his pillows.

"What's the word around school?" He asked.

"No one knows the truth, Caleb and Pogue made sure of it…" Tyler stated.

"What're they telling everyone?" He questioned.

"That you're sick and that you're not feeling good… for a lack of a better excuse…" Tyler lifted his shoulders in disinterest.

The two younger boys chatted for awhile until the sound of someone struggling caught their attention. Tyler and Reid both looked up as a young nurse struggled to help Isobel out of her wheelchair. Isobel gave the woman a frustrated look.

"I can do it," She barked angrily. The nurse backed away slightly as the young girl pulled herself out of the chair and nearly collapsed. "Damn these impossible legs," she cursed.

Tyler got up quickly and scooped her up in his strong arms. She looked at him shocked and though about to yell at him, decided against it when she saw the look on Reid's face. She bit her bottom lip and looked down at the adorable brunette.

"Thanks, Tyler right?" She asked.

"Right you are," He grinned setting her down in her bed.

"I'm Isobel, by the way,"

"Nice to meet you Isobel," He grinned shooting a look over at Reid who was glowering at him.

Isobel smirked and she looked at Reid, "What's wrong Reid?" She asked with a cute grin.

"Nothing, Tyler get back over here and keep me occupied please…." Reid barked as he sent a look at his best friend.

Tyler laughed to himself and walked over to Reid's side of the room and the blonde pulled the curtain. He made conversation with the boy other than the girl on the other side of the room, and Isobel felt set off to the side, and that irked her.

"I'm gonna go grab some food, you want something decent?" Tyler asked glancing around at the hospital room, knowing that their food probably sucked.

"Yeah," Reid muttered.

Tyler smirked and he pulled back the curtain, Isobel was jotting something down in a notebook and he smiled, "How about you gorgeous, hungry?"

She gave him a small smile, "No thanks, I'm really not hungry…" She stated with a small grin.

Tyler pouted, "You sure, my treat?"

"No, really I'm ok,"

Tyler nodded his head and left the room. Reid glanced over at her and he felt his insides bubbling. His lips pursed as he watched her go back to writing in her notebook.

"What was that about?" He asked carefully, though his tone was showing that he did not like whatever just happened between his best friend and his current roommate.

"What was what about?" She asked confused, she put her notebook to the side and turned in her hospital bed to look at the handsome young man.

"With you and Tyler?" He asked his eyes narrowed in on her.

"I don't even know him,"

"But you were flirting with him," Reid accused.

Isobel scoffed and pulled her curtain back.

"Isobel…" Reid's voice was rough as he tried to reach for her curtain, but he couldn't reach it. "Damn it woman," He growled pulling himself out of his bed. He pulled her curtain back a bit and found her writing again. "What are you writing about?" He asked aggravated standing there his arms crossed over his chest.

"None of your business now go lay back down…" She stated angrily writing.

"Not until you tell me what you're writing about…." He demanded.

"Why do you care?" She asked him hotly.

"Because I do, I want to know, are you writing about him?" He asked pointing to the door, insinuating his best friend.

Isobel drew her eyebrows together, "No, I told you I don't even know him like that… Jesus Reid… you need to get off of whatever high horse you're on buddy…" She growled tilting her notebook so he couldn't read it.

"Then what are you writing about?" He asked, this time in a calmer voice.

"What an asshole you're being…" She remarked not bothering to look up.

Reid glanced at her and then back at the door, how was he being an asshole? He pursed his lips together and grabbed her notebook, winning in their short battle of tug-of-war. Reid read over her scribbled hand writing and sure enough, she had wrote down dates and times of Reid acting like a complete jackass, then him being sweet and caring like he was last night.

"I'm starting to think that you're bipolar, or have multiple personalities…" She dictated.

"I am not bipolar and I do not have multiple personalities…" He offered shoving her notebook back at her. "Why are you psychoanalyzing me anyway?" He questioned a bit aggravated.

"I was planning on studying psychology when I went to college, but…" She trailed off not wanting to continue.

"But what?" Reid questioned sitting back down on his bed.

"But I don't know how that's going to pan out now…" She gave an evasive answer.

Reid sat back down and studied her for a minute, he didn't know why he decided to snap at her and accuse her of flirting with Tyler. Why did he care? He didn't, he decided. He couldn't.

"I'm sorry about earlier… I don't know why I snapped…" Reid apologized.

He seemed to be doing his share of that in this room. Was it something about the hospital atmosphere that made him feel so guilty? Made him feel… human?

Isobel looked over at him and shrugged, "I'm starting to get used to you being an ass one minute and a complete angel the next… it's kind of entertaining…" She mused giving him a small hint of a smile.

Small talk ensued until Tyler came back with food, he offered extra to Isobel but she refused. The doctor's ushered her off again for another round of treatment. Reid didn't have time to ask questions because he didn't want to look too concerned in front of Tyler.

"What's your deal man?" Tyler asked taking a sip of his coke as he glanced up at the television Reid had put on after Isobel left.

"What are you talking about?"

"Why are you so jealous?" Tyler questioned, he pulled at the black jeans adorning his body.

"Jealous?"

"Yeah, you snapped at Isobel after I left because I was flirting with her…"

"Why the hell were you flirting with _her_?" Reid asked angry as he listed to his best friend fess up about flirting with his pretty roommate.

"Because she's a pretty girl, why wouldn't I flirt with her?"

"Because you're baby boy, you don't flirt with girls. You blush and hide behind one of us whenever there's a chick around," Reid snapped.

"That's in Ipswich, none of the girls in Gloucester know me like that… maybe it's time to expand my horizons… maybe become the next Reid Garwin…."

"You will not," Reid stated, his blonde eyebrows slammed together as he stared at his best friend in contempt. Tyler started laughing and this just infuriated Reid, "You will not do that to her, she is not the kind of girl to fuck around with,"

"I'm just messing with you, dude… chill out…" Tyler grinned. "You like her,"

"What?" Reid asked as if it were the most unnatural thing in the world.

"You like your suicidal roommate, that's kinda cute…" Tyler grinned glancing over at her empty bed.

"Don't…" Reid pointed a finger at him. "Don't talk about her like that goddamn it Tyler," Reid's teeth were clenched as he looked at his best friend with the most evil glare he could muster up.

Tyler threw his hands up in defense, "Sorry, I'm just saying, for once in your life you actually like a girl…"

"You don't know anything," Reid snickered brushing it off.

"I do, I know you Reid and I know when it's more than just physical for you… you don't want to rip her close off and do her on her hospital bed…" He rolled his eyes. "I was only flirting with her to see if you'd get pissed off… because if I flirted or talked to any of your one-night stands you could care less… but with her…"

"It's different," Reid finished softly.

"Exactly,"

Reid let out a low sigh and looked at Tyler, "Sorry for biting your head off man, I don't know what's going on in here…" He pointed to his head. "I just can seem to think clearly anymore,"

"Don't worry about it… I'll drop by tomorrow to check on you… and you are free to go Wed afternoon so I'll skip out the rest of the day and come pick you up, k?"

"Sure man, thanks for coming by, tell the girls and Cale and Pogue I said what's up…"

"Will do; call me if you need anything…"

Reid nodded his head and settled down in his hospital bed.

Could what Tyler say be true? Could he actually like this girl? He's only known her for about twenty-four hours. But he _was_ jealous when Tyler was flirting with her. That's why he had gone in to asshole mode that was the only way he knew.

It was his defense mechanism.

He watched Isobel come back in looking not much like herself. He felt an internal tug as he watched her slip in to her bed with the help from the male nurse. He was in his mid-twenties and Reid felt his entire body tense as his hands seemed to be all over his roommate.

He didn't like that. Not at all.

He shook his head, he had it bad. He was really starting to like her. Reid Garwin was actually falling for a girl.

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**Oh eM Gee! -- LOL, sorry I was having a giddy-cheerleader-like-experience. Woo, don't ask me why... but I'm in this really _interesting_ mood. Really. Dont' know why, I'm still sick, I'm at work... and I have to attend a meeting in 10 minutes, I should be totally bumming right now but I'm not.**

SO REVIEW!


	7. Anger

**A/N: **Here is another chapter for you all... I wanted to post before I went MIA for the weekend, see you all on Monday (virtually speaking of course)! :)

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**Chapter 06 – Anger**

Isobel came back shortly after Tyler left and things were quiet between them. He didn't know how to act around her knowing that he actually liked her. Most girls, he would just flirt with, tossing around his cheesy pick-up lines and woe them in to his bed.

Isobel was different.

"Hey Iz," He grabbed her attention.

Light brown eyes lifted to meet his blue ones; she looked a bit sad but other than that content. She was sitting, Indian style and he opened his mouth to say something else when a nurse came in with a wheelchair and asked Reid to come with her.

"But," He started to object.

"You have to meet with the counselor, Reid… you'll be back shortly…"

Reid rolled his eyes and he tossed Isobel a charming grin before he was wheeled out of the room.

Reid sat there rolling his eyes; he had been in this room for twenty minutes with the freak in front of him. He looked like a cross being the Colonel and Mr. McGee. If anyone needed to be in therapy it was this guy, Reid had decided after the first five minutes.

"Mr. Garwin, have you had thoughts of suicide before?" The man asked jotting down in his little pad of paper.

"I never had thoughts of suicide, I wasn't trying to kill myself," Reid repeated for the hundredth time.

"Then why all of the scars?" He asked pointing to the boy's wrists that were now breathing out of their gauze restraints.

"I'm your textbook cutter," The blonde responded lifting his shoulders in disinterest.

"Why do you cut, Mr. Garwin?"

"The same reason everyone else does," Reid smirked. "I cut to let out emotions, I cut to feel alive, I cut to make the feeling of numbness go away… I cut so I can have control…" He remembered all of these things from his 'self-help' group for cutters.

"I have a file here Mr. Garwin that says that your father died when you were young…" His thin, dry, cracked lips pursed together. His gray eyes narrowed in on the blonde who was slouched in his chair his eyes looking dull as he waited for this fool to psychoanalyze him.

"Yep," Reid replied dryly. "Selfish son of a bitch he was killed himself…"

"Overdose?" The therapist asked.

"Yep,"

"Your mother," He looked over the file. "Is she a good mother?"

"She was once upon a time, happier times…" Reid laughed bitterly. "Now she drinks herself in to comas and pops pills like pez…"

The therapist jotted more things down.

"I'm a lonely rich boy who is neglected by his parents and is affected by his father's untimely death. Tell me something I don't know already," Reid looked at the man his lips curled in to a snarky smirk.

"Mr. Garwin, I believe that you are battling a type of depression," The therapist stated looking down at his notes, adjusting the glasses on his face.

"Again, tell me something I don't know… you're little prescription didn't help before, what makes you think they'll help now?" Reid asked rolling his eyes.

"You feel misunderstood, do you not?" The therapist asked, he wasn't going to give up on the blonde boy, as much as the boy wanted him too.

"All the time, everyday…"

His answers were evasive and to the point; he told the therapist everything he wanted to hear. The graying man scribbled something down on a piece of paper and he made sure to add it in to the boy's file.

"Reid, I heard that you've been getting along quite nicely with your roommate, Isobel Brady?" The therapist smiled at him. Reid's attention perked up hearing Isobel's name. "She talked about you in our session today, a lot…"

"She did?"

The therapist noticed that Reid's demeanor changed as soon as he brought up Isobel. His posture straightened, his eyes brightened, the boy liked his roommate. The therapist let a small smile inch across his face as he jotted down the realization.

"She did,"

"What did she say?" He asked.

"Ah, that my dear boy, I cannot tell you… however, I can tell you that it was mostly good things…"

"Mostly?" Reid's blonde eyebrow arched in interest.

"She said something about you being a part-time asshole, I believe…" The therapist beamed seeing Reid's face lift in to a grin.

Reid finished his session, and was escorted back to his room. He noticed Isobel was asleep and was a bit miffed by this. He wanted to talk to her; he wanted to see what she had said about him at her session with the fruity psycho doctor.

He sat there watching her for what seemed like forever, thoughts rushing through his head.

His thoughts drifted to his session earlier, his father hadn't overdosed, though when you finally use until you're body can't take it anymore, it appears as an overdose. The endorphins and adrenaline kick in and make it all appear that way, to cover up the deaths of the members of the Covenant, if it ever happens.

His father abused his powers, and Reid knew that he couldn't be like his father. He couldn't, he had to fight the urge to use his powers. He could only use if necessary, and prayed that he could live to see his own Son ascend, if he ever made it to that place.

If he could marry a girl, like Isobel, and have children with her. A small smile lifted on to his handsome face at the thought. He could see himself having children. A couple of them; blonde little things running around and reeking havoc like he had when he was a youngin'.

"What are you thinking about?" Her voice interrupted his thoughts.

"You're awake,"

"Have been for a few minutes,"

"Why didn't you say anything?" He asked her.

"You smiled, like you really smiled for the first time… I just wanted to see you," Those light brown orbs burned in to his and he looked away. "What were you smiling about?"

Reid was a bit embarrassed; he wasn't the kind of guy that daydreamed about having a house, a wife and a family. That was Caleb's and Tyler's thing, not his.

"I was uh, I was thinking about kids…" His eyebrows lifted slightly seeing if she was interested in kids.

"You like kids?" She asked surprised.

"I love kids," He mused.

"You didn't strike me as the kind,"

"I'm definitely the kind…" Reid responded with a grin.

"I want three kids," Isobel stretched her arms out, Reid noticed her bandages were gone as well.

"Why three?"

"I think that's the perfect number,"

"I like that, three kids sounds good…"

Isobel glanced over at him and he was still smiling, really smiling. She felt a small tug at her heart as he rested his hands behind his head. They were talking about kids, next thing you know they'll be talking about marriage.

"Do you want to get married?" Reid asked out loud.

"Is that a proposal or a question?" She grinned, shocked a bit at her own inquiry.

Reid lifted himself up on his elbows, "Both?"

The playful grin on his lips made Isobel's heart skip a few beats. She nodded her head at the question, knowing that he meant to ask her if she was or wanted to get married, in the future, to some one, not necessarily him.

"Me too," He sighed heavily. "If you want to get married and have kids, why did you… you know…" He lifted his chin in her direction.

Isobel glanced down at her cuts and sighed, "Complicated I suppose…"

"I think we've got about forty-five more hours, I can do complicated…" He stated glancing around the white room for a clock.

"I'm a girl you know, we all dream about getting married and having kids, but for some girls it doesn't happen… for others it does, and others…" She paused to laugh at herself, "Do it a number of times…"

Reid laughed at her idea of a joke and shook his head, "That's terrible,"

"I know, but you laughed…" She insisted sitting up.

Things got a bit quiet between them, but it wasn't awkward, it was welcomed; a comfortable silence between two strangers; or almost strangers. Reid didn't even think there was this kind of comfortable silence between him and the other boys of the Covenant, maybe with Tyler but definitely not with Caleb and Pogue.

"Hey Iz," He grabbed her attention again.

"You're callin' me Iz now?" She asked with a grin his way.

"I like it…" He mused shrugging his shoulders, "What's NHL?"

Her heart stopped as she looked over at him, she felt her stomach in her throat and she gave him a forced grin, "The National Hockey League?" She questioned, playing it off.

"Very funny," He rolled his eyes. "Seriously, earlier… you went for some kind of treatment, the nurse said it was for your NHL… what is that?"

Isobel was hoping that she wouldn't have to tell him about this. She was hoping that she would never have to tell anyone else about this. She took a deep breath and looked over at him. She sat up in her bed, letting her scarred legs dangle over the edge of the bed.

Reid took the initiative and pulled himself out of his bed. He stumbled his way over to her and took a seat. He put a hand on her bare thigh and she looked up at him. There was something in his eyes that she didn't think she had seen since he was rolled through that door.

He really wanted to know, he was concerned, he was worried, and he was being completely sincere with her.

"I uh-I have cancer…" She looked down at his hand that gripped her thigh tightly as she said this. Her eyes darted up to his; they were squeezed shut as if he was trying to battle off what she had just said. "It's called non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma…" Her tongue darted out and licked her dry lips, she was nervous. The last guys she told this went running, and never came back.

The hand that was on her thigh grabbed her hand and squeezed it.

When he didn't say anything she sighed and looked down at their hands that were now laced together, "I got today for my weekly dose, and then next week I go, with a two week break period between…"

Reid was quiet. He didn't know what to say, he had never known anyone with cancer before. He had never had to deal with that kind of loss. And here he was falling for a girl, a girl that was in the hospital because she tried to kill herself, a girl that was in the hospital getting treated for cancer.

"Is that why…" He trailed off.

"More or less, yes…" She nodded her head.

Reid dropped her hand and she looked up at him, hurt in her eyes. Or at least until he wrapped his arms around her tightly, pulling her body against his. She inhaled deeply a bit relieved that he hadn't run off, though the blonde really had no choice in the matter.

She sighed, and wrapped her small arms around his lean frame; he rested his chin on top of her head and didn't say anything for a few minutes.

"Is it treatable? Can they cure it or are you going to…"

"They're treating it… I have an aggressive strand, it's easier to cure or treat the aggressive than it is the impotent…"

"That's really good to hear," He whispered softly, just low enough where she barely caught his words.

They stayed like this for awhile, Reid wanted to hold her and make the pain go away, but he knew that he couldn't. She didn't say anything else to him and she didn't have to. He didn't want to leave her side, but she soon fell asleep in his arms, she was tired, he could tell.

Resting her back in to her bed he climbed in to his own. He could hear his cell phone buzzing off to the side and groaned. He pulled it out from under the McDonald's bag Tyler had brought in for him for lunch, and noticed Caleb's number.

He didn't want to answer it, but if he didn't the dark haired boy might show up. He flipped open his phone and answered.

"_How you doing man?"_ Caleb asked after a short greeting.

"I'm doing ok…" Reid responded dryly. "Still alive,"

"_Reid, c'mon man… I'm your friend I'm concerned_…"

"Yeah, whatever Caleb… you just don't want the Garwin line to die out…" Reid's voice was bitter.

"_Do you really think that my concern has to do with the Covenant?"_

"You never know with you, oh fearless leader," Reid snickered.

"_Seriously Reid, Covenant or no Covenant you're my friend and I'm worried about you. I love you man, you're like a brother to me…"_

"And you and I both know that we wouldn't be friends if it wasn't because…" Reid glanced over at his sleeping roommate. "If it wasn't because of our families."

"_That has__** nothing**__, absolutely nothing to do with it Reid… you can't honestly tell me that you believe that…"_

"I don't know what to believe anymore, Caleb."

_"I'm going to come see you tomorrow, ok?" _Caleb questioned.

"Whatever man, don't waste your time…"

With that Reid hung up the phone and tossed it over on his table. He didn't want to deal with Caleb. He knew that the only reason they all hung out together was because of the Covenant, because of their sacred little club.

The thought had eaten away at him for many years. Every fight he had with Caleb, he knew that the only reason Caleb apologized was because of the Covenant. The only reason, because of some fucked up Laws that their forefathers decided to apply to all of them.

This damned curse that was put on their magic.

The thought irked him.

Tyler, even he was only attached because of the stupid Powers, because of the stupid Covenant, and the stupid Book. He felt his power surge through his body at the thought. He wanted to use, just to get the anger out.

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**Let me know what you think. I know what you're thinking, cancer... eek cliche... I know... but if you love me you'll deal... (and it's not all bad... I swear!)... R E V I E W!**


	8. Sometimes

**A/N: **I'm really not that proud of this chapter; but I needed to post something, or felt the need to. So here we go...

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**Chapter 07: Sometimes**

Isobel felt a shift in the atmosphere around them; she forced her tired eyes open and sat up in her bed. She glanced over and saw her roommates eyes shut tightly. He looked as if he were wincing in pain. She wondered what he was thinking about, what was causing this tension in the air.

"Reid,"

She spoke so softly that he hadn't heard her. She cleared her throat and tried again.

"Reid,"

This time he heard her, his blue eyes snapped open as he stared at her his face completely blank of emotion. He sat up in his bed, her face pinched together in confusion.

"What's wrong?"

Reid licked his lips and pushed the covers off of his body, she had only been asleep for an hour, what had woken her up? He bit his bottom lip and stayed quiet, wondering how he was going to explain something like this to her.

"Reid?"

Her voice showed that she was getting annoyed with him ignoring her questions. He didn't want to make her mad, he forced a smile at her and closed his eyes.

"Rei-"

"It's complicated…" He repeated her words from earlier.

Isobel sat up in her bed and glanced at the clock, "We've got forty-three hours and twenty-nine minutes, I can do complicated," She grinned at him.

Reid looked up to meet her gaze and smiled, he raked a hand through his messy blonde hair and she scooted over patting the spot next to her. Reid walked over and took a seat next to her, folding his legs under his body and trying to find the right place to start.

"My fri-, Caleb called. He's this guy that I know,"

"One of the guys that came in to see you yesterday?" She asked with a grin on her face. "The dark haired one, right? With the pretty blonde girlfriend?"

Reid laughed and nodded, "Yeah that's the one," He nodded his head.

"Seems like a nice guy,"

"Do you want to hear what's bothering me?" He asked her in a joking manner.

"Excuse me," She laughed and nodded tiredly.

She pulled her knees up to her chest and watched as he explained Caleb's phone call and their little fight they had. He ended by telling her his conclusion of their entire friendship.

"Why do you think that?" Isobel asked.

"What?" Reid questioned.

"Why do you think that the four of you are only friends because of your families?"

Reid sighed and cleared his throat, "All of our forefathers were friends, and best of… they stuck together all the way from England…" Reid shook his head. "It's like some unwritten rule that you have to be friends if your last names are Garwin, Simms, Parry and Danvers."

"Even if that's so…" Isobel pulled her bottom lip between her teeth, she grinned, "You still had a choice, you've known each other since you were kids… you didn't have to like each other, you chose to like each other."

Reid sat back and thought about what she said. She had a point, Caleb, Pogue and Tyler all had a choice to be his friend. They all chose to hang out with him even though he caused trouble, they all chose to hang out with him even when they found out about his secret and they all came to visit him on their own accord.

"Wow," Reid whispered feeling all of the anger that he had just moments ago slip away.

"So, you see that I'm right," She grinned at him. "You're lucky that you have friends like them, ones that really care about you and you're well being…"

Reid smiled for a second, but the smile faded when he saw the sadness in her brown eyes. He felt ridiculous at that moment; here he was so stubborn in his belief that he couldn't even realize that his friends were really his friends because they liked him, when he was sitting with a young woman who hadn't had one person visit her the entire time that he was there.

"What about you?" He asked quietly.

"What about me?" She questioned back.

"Your friends, where are they? Boyfriend? Siblings? Parents? Family?" His questions were rushed wanting to know why no one came to see her.

"Friends," She grimaced at the word. "I thought I had friends, I thought I had a lot of friends," She mustered up a small smile. "I was very popular in school at Florence Academy," She pursed her lips together and Reid smiled softly. "Until someone decided to open their mouths about this," She lifted her hands up in the air.

"You're cutting?" He asked quietly.

"Yeah," She lifted her eyebrows and shook her head. "They thought I was a freak, they thought I was some suicidal rich girl," She tried to hide the pain in her eyes. "But they didn't know why I did it… they just thought it was a cry for attention."

"I'm sorry," He instinctively felt bad for the way he had acted towards her the day previous, not much better than the people that were at her school.

She let her hand fall on his and his gaze lifted to meet hers, "It's ok, at least you understand…" She looked at her legs and shook her head. "They didn't."

"They never do,"

"That's the difference; they were only friends with me because it suited their lifestyle…" She forced the tears back and looked at him. "Caleb, Tyler, and Pogue… they genuinely care about you, like you said… you guys are like brothers…"

Reid stared at her for a minute, how could some one so young, so beautiful, so full of life be threatened like this? He wondered.

"What about a boyfriend?" Reid asked carefully resting back on his elbows.

Isobel laughed and shook her head, "As soon as they hear the word cancer they are on the run," She snickered. "I think the only thing holding you back was the guard outside out door," She lifted her chin to the closed door.

"Trust me, if I wanted to run, I would have…" He gave her a small grin. "I didn't want to,"

"Why not?" She asked.

Reid's blue eyes fell on her; he took in her unruly curly brown hair, her slightly tanned face, her brown eyes and the dimples in her cheeks. He leaned in closer to her, his eyes gracing down to the unflattering hospital gown and the scarred legs that were hidden under the white sheet.

He was close to her that he could smell the faint scent of cucumber melon coming from her skin. He felt her breath on his cheek and he tilted his head slightly.

"I don't know,"

He closed the space between them, his lips falling on hers softly. The kiss was innocent, nothing like he had taken from a girl before. Her lips were soft but dry; his hands grabbed her face, his thumbs running over her jaw line as he pursued the kiss further.

Isobel's breath caught in her throat the minute his lips pressed against hers. She felt her heart beat begin to kick in to overdrive. The feeling of his soft hands on her face, she unwrapped her arms from her legs and moved closer to him, her hands wrapping around him, pulling his body closer to hers.

Reid's stomach flipped as he felt an uncomfortable feeling start to grow on him, literally. He pulled away from Isobel, both of them breathing heavy as they caught their breath. His blue eyes clouded with a haze as she put a hand to her chest.

"Reid," She said his name and it was like a croak, low and hoarse coming form her lips.

His head snapped up, his eyes penetrating in to hers.

"Don't say it," He shook his head. "Don't you dare say that you regret that," His voice was hoarse; he swallowed hard, his breathing shallow.

Isobel stared at him, her eyes wide as he told her sternly, and in not-so-many words that he didn't regret the heated kiss they had just shared. She felt it difficult to swallow as his eyes locked with hers. She couldn't say it, it wasn't true… she didn't regret it at all.

"I don't," She told him leaning back in to her pillows. "The opposite actually," She inhaled deeply.

"I want to know," Reid held her hands in his, he used his index finger to trail designs in the middle of her palm.

"Know what?" She asked him.

"I want to know why there hasn't been anyone in to see you since I've been here," He urged his eyes showing how tired he was.

Isobel's eyes widened as she felt her breath trapped in her throat. She hadn't thought he'd noticed. She shook his head, he noticed everything, she came to realize. Just like she did.

"No friends, no boyfriend," She shrugged her shoulders.

"What about siblings, parents, any family… why not?" He pushed her.

"My parents," She took a deep breath. "They practically disowned me when they found out about this," She lifted her hands forcing the emotions back down. "They didn't want to be known as the family that raised a suicidal, cancerous child…" She laughed bitterly at the thought.

"How could they do that?"

"They're rich, powerful people… everything was perfect when I just had cancer, before they found out about the cutting, before I tried to kill myself," She shook her head and looked down at the white cotton sheet. "They loved that," She bit her bottom lip. "I was like their bargaining chip in to everything, all the social events of the year…" She rolled her eyes.

Reid's face fell, how could anyone treat their own like this? Even his own mother wouldn't do that to him. Wouldn't just disregard him if she was fully conscious, if she wasn't comatose all the time.

"I'm sorry," He whispered pulling her against him, cradling her body in his arms.

"I've come to live with it, really…" She shook her head. "I push it all aside, and I just live my life one day at a time…"

"Trying to find new ways to end it?" Reid asked his tone lingered a bit of bitterness behind his words.

"Sometimes," She whispered her face pressed against his chest.

* * *

**Kind of an angsty chapter, but... now that I read through it again, I kind of like it. I'm torn... what do you think?**


	9. Different

**A/N: **I love the soft side of Reid, it makes me want to cuddle him like a teddy bear... :)

* * *

**Chapter 08: Different**

Reid laid awake that night, after she had gone back to sleep he didn't want to leave her bed, but knew that it would look suspicious when the nurses came in the following morning to check on them. He barely got any sleep when he felt the need to call someone.

He waited for the person on the other line to answer the phone, "Hello?" A drowsy voice came.

"Tyler," His best friend's name slipped out of his mouth.

"Reid," The voice was fully awake now. "Are you ok? Did something happen?" His best friend questioned.

Reid felt a small smile tug at his lips at the sound of his best friend's worried tone. _They did care for him_. He told himself_. They always had_.

"Ty, I'm fine… but I kind of need your help with something,"

Ten minutes later he shut his phone and rested back in his bed. His blue eyes focused in on the clock above the door and he shook his head. He probably got a total of an hour of sleep, maybe, but he couldn't sleep. Not knowing that there were people out there like Isobel's parents.

He had to get to the bottom of it and he was going to.

The door opened and a familiar face came in, it was their usual morning nurse. She gave Reid a grin before checking out Isobel first. She inspected her cuts, bandaged them back up and did most of this without disturbing the young girls sleep.

Reid sat up as she took his vitals, checked out his cuts and cleaned them out, "You have a morning session in about a half hour, do you want some breakfast first?" She asked.

"Sure," He nodded his head slowly.

He glanced over at his roommate as the nurse left and felt a small tug internally. He hadn't ever felt that tug before. It was different, and he liked it.

He had enjoyed the kiss that they shared the night before, and he hoped that it wouldn't end. She had pulled away first, and he was disappointed. He had never wanted to just kiss a girl before, but last night. That's all he wanted to do.

After eating breakfast he was ushered down the hall to meet with the Doctor again. The doctor gave him a warming smile and Reid felt a bit more at ease than he had the last time.

"How are you feeling today, Reid?" He questioned.

"Pretty good," The blonde responded with a genuine smile.

"I think that's the first real smile I've seen on your face Mr. Garwin," The aging man grinned.

"You're probably right," He nodded his head.

"Anything new happen since yesterday?"

"Quite a few things," Reid stated.

"Would this have anything to do with Miss Brady?" He questioned further.

"Yes, it would,"

_Evasive, truthful answers._ The doctor thought with a grin on his face. They were getting somewhere, slowly but surely.

"Would you like to talk about anything in particular, Reid?"

"As a matter of fact, I would," Reid stated carefully.

"Alright, I'll let you lead the conversation,"

Reid took a deep breath and as soon as he opened his mouth he let all of his thoughts and feelings about what Isobel had told him over the last day and half out on the floor. The doctor jotted down as much as he could, trying to remember the looks on Reid's face as he explained everything, the way he said them.

"Wow," The doctor glanced up at the clock. "Reid, I have to say that you have come a long way in a short time…"

"I'm not usually up for this psychoanalysis bullshit Doc…" Reid cleared his throat. "Not to mean any disrespect, but I always thought you guys were the crazy ones,"

"None taken," The doctor smiled.

"I realized that I care about this girl," He laughed at the thought. "Like I really like her, y'know?" He questioned the doctor.

"That's not surprising, Reid… Isobel is a charming young woman,"

"No shit," He shook his head. "But for me to actually like a girl," Reid whistled. "That's saying a lot about her,"

"Why do you say that Mr. Garwin?"

"I'm kind of known at my school as the playboy. I like sex and I like women… and I love having sex with women…" He shrugged his shoulders. "And at times I can be quite narcissistic,"

"I hadn't noticed," The doctor smirked glancing down at his notes.

"Was that sarcasm I detect there Doc?" Reid quirked, raising an eyebrow at the man.

The doctor gave him a slight nod and smile as Reid continued, "I really had issues with my feelings for women, I don't really know why…"

"You are afraid of abandonment," The doctor detected. "You're father left you at a young age, your mother as you stated was 'comatose' most of your teen-life, which can affect a young boy more than you can imagine…"

"I think what I worried about most was them finding out the truth," He stated his voice lowering. "You know, finding out about my cutting, and my depression and my family…" He bit his bottom lip and looked up at the man. "I didn't want to be seen as different, just normal…"

"And with Isobel?" The doctor urged him to continue.

"She understands me, she knows about what it feels like… I don't have to fake it with her…"

Reid finished up with his session and returned back to his room to find Isobel missing. He didn't worry this time because there was someone else waiting in his room for him. A tall, dark haired young man with a charming grin on his face.

"Caleb," Reid smiled brightly seeing his friend.

"What happened to the guy I talked to on the phone yesterday?" Caleb laughed as Reid hugged him closely.

"I'm sorry about what I said yesterday, I was being a complete ass…" The blonde stated pulling away from his dark haired friend.

"I know man, it's cool…" Caleb grinned. "You wanna talk about it?"

"Do you really have that kind of time?

"I've got all the time in the world for my brother," Caleb retorted, Reid licked his lips carefully looking at the empty bed and then back to his brother. "The nurse said she was going to her session, Tyler tells me you like her…"

"That's all part of this long, complicated story," Reid laid back in to his bed.

"I told you, I've got all the time in the world for you, man…."

Isobel nervously sat looking at the doctor, she tilted her head to the side and saw Reid's name on a file near his foot. She strained to see what it said and noticed the doctor's scribbling hand writing, trying to make out the writing she nearly fell out of her chair.

"Miss Brady," The doctor looked up from her file, a grin on his face.

"Sorry," She whispered and situated herself back in her seat.

"Mr. Garwin tells me you guys have bonded,"

"We have," She nodded her head in agreement to his words.

"I heard his side of everything, I'd like to hear yours if you don't mind sharing,"

Isobel looked at the man nervously and nodded her head swallowing hard, "Where would you like me to start?" She asked him carefully.

"From the beginning, if you don't mind…" He grinned.

"Reid, I wish you would have told me this earlier, maybe we might have been able to avoid this…" Caleb's heart sank as he stared at the younger blonde man in front of him.

"I'm kind of glad it did happen," Reid shrugged his shoulders. "I mean, how else would I have run in to Isobel, she lives here in Gloucester, and goes to Florence Academy…"

"You really like her, huh?" Caleb asked with a large grin on his face.

"Like you wouldn't believe…" Reid admitted shaking his head. "She's all I can think about, y'know?"

"That's how it is with Sarah," Caleb nodded his head in agreement. "I know exactly what you mean…"

Reid felt his cheeks flush at the thought of actually liking a girl, he watched as a shit-eating grin formed on the dark haired boys face and he rose a pale eyebrow in question.

"I'm marking this date on the calendar," He mused. "Reid Garwin actually admits to _liking_ a girl, and he blushes…" He laughed pulling out his phone as if he were going to document this very day.

"I hate you again, Caleb…" Reid muttered his attention pulling away from his friend and to the dark haired girl that was standing in the doorway, a faint smile on her lips.

"Hey Reid," She acknowledged him and pulled the gown tighter against her body. She noticed the dark haired guy, he was the monotone friend, the very one that Reid had gotten into an argument with the night before. "Hi, I'm Isobel Brady," She introduced herself.

"Caleb Danvers, Isobel it's nice to finally meet you," Caleb grinned standing up and shaking her hand.

He was at the perfect spot where Reid could elbow him aggressively and get a curt look in return.

"It's nice to finally meet you as well," She grinned giving Reid a wink.

Reid watched the interaction between the two and shook his head, "You know what, I'm starving…" He decided.

"Yeah, I'm kinda hungry myself…" She lifted a shoulder up slightly and Caleb stood up.

"I think Ty was going to come up for lunch, I'll call him and see if he'll pick us up some food…" He pulled out his cell and walked out in to the hall.

"Everything good with you guys?" She asked him carefully.

"Yeah, thanks to you…" He smiled pulling her closer to him.

"Sometimes you just need an outsider's interpretation…" Isobel shrugged and gave him a small smile.

"Iz," He pushed her bangs out of her face and looked her square in the eye.

"Reid, don't…" She whispered pulling out of his vice-like grip.

"Don't what?" He asked holding on to her forearms.

"Don't do this, please…" Her brown eyes pulled him in and he swallowed hard.

"Why not?" He asked, he glanced to the window seeing Caleb pacing the hallway on the phone. "Caleb won't mind… trust me…"

"It's not Caleb," She wrapped her arms around herself tightly and felt the tears brimming her eyes. "I realized something when I was in my session today…" She cleared her throat and looked away from the handsome blonde boy that was sitting in front of her.

"Me too," Reid stated calmly, he shifted himself so that he was sitting on the edge of the bed, his bare pale legs hanging over the side.

"This isn't right," She shook her head violently.

"That's just it…" Reid pulled her to him. "This is right; it's really, really right…"

"No," She whispered hoarsely, her head still shaking. "It's not… it's wrong…"

"That is everything it's not…" Reid stated his fair eyebrows shooting up desperately.

"Reid, after tomorrow you're not going to be here anymore," Isobel stated her eyes narrowed. "You're going to leave my life, just as quickly as you were thrown in to it…"

Reid felt an impossible tear internally. How could he let this happen? He wouldn't, he couldn't. He wasn't going to throw this away. He had never felt like this about any woman, he wasn't about to let it get away.

"That's where you're wrong, Iz…" Reid whispered stroking her face. "I'm not going to just leave and never be heard from again," He shook his head.

Isobel watched his mouth opened as he was about to say something, but Caleb's voice pulled him out of it.

"Just got a hold of Ty." He came in to the room and looked between the two. "I'm sorry, I should have knocked,"

"It's ok," Isobel pulled away from Reid and walked back to her bed.

"I can come back…" Caleb pointed to the door.

"No, its fine Caleb," Isobel fidgeted as she climbed back on to her bed.

Reid opened his mouth to object but Isobel shook her head pulling the covers over her legs. She sat there quietly for most of the afternoon writing in her journal. Reid tried to pay as much attention to Caleb as he possibly could, and figured maybe he needed to walk around with Caleb, to get away from her for a few minutes.

Caleb talked to the security guard and he OKed them going for a short walk around the hospital.

Isobel put her notebook away and leaned back in her chair wondering if she could believe Reid. She had come to the realization during her session that Reid was going to leave tomorrow afternoon. He was going to head back to Ipswich and forget all about his freak show of a roommate at Gloucester Memorial Hospital.

She talked to the psychiatrist about her feelings; she really opened up to him, and he had been a bit surprised with this. He had told her that Reid had opened up, shared himself much like she had. He told her that maybe then needed to talk before she jumped the gun about detaching herself from him.

He told her that maybe they were just what the other needed.

Maybe she could save him, maybe he could save her.

The thought had crossed her mind, and when she stopped him from kissing her earlier, she could see it in his eyes. She could see the difference than when he first spoke to her, from the very first day, things were so different.

"So what are you going to do about this?" Caleb hoisted a finger in the direction they had just left minutes ago.

"I don't know what I'm going to do yet," Reid cleared his throat. "I have these feelings for her that I've never felt for a girl before,"

"Are you willing to give a long distance relationship a shot?" Caleb questioned. "Can you handle that kind of commitment?"

Reid nearly choked at the sound of the words Caleb was saying, he really hadn't thought it all out. He wanted to be with her. He knew that as soon as he left the doctor's session this morning, but did he want to be with her in a long distance relationship, could he handle something like that… when he wasn't even sure if he could handle an actual relationship?

"Reid?" Caleb said his name and the blonde boy's head snapped up to look in to those concerned brown eyes. "You zoned out for a minute man, you alright?"

"Caleb, I've never actually had a _relationship_" Reid pointed out. "I mean, I don't know the first thing about them…"

"That's what you've got your friends for," The dark haired boy clapped his hand on his friends back and grinned. "We're here to help you out, even when you don't think we are… we're there…"

Reid smirked and nodded his head, this was definitely going to be different for him. Difficult and very, very different.

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**REVIEW, because you know you want to. You want to make me happy... right?!**


	10. Scared

**A/N: **This is a really short chapter, but I thought it was a good place to end it. Anywho, enjoy and please remember to R&R :)

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**Chapter 09: Scared**

Caleb and Tyler came and left within several hours after lunch and left Reid and Isobel alone. Isobel had kept to herself mostly, and only spoke with Tyler or Caleb spoke directly to her. She thanked Tyler for grabbing her some food, and he gave her a short grin and wink.

It had been an hour since they left and Reid had tried to talk to her, but with no luck. She didn't know what to say to him. She didn't know how she could express herself to him without making him run away.

"Iz, you've been over there thinking for an hour," Reid sighed heavily.

"Sorry," She whispered trying to fight the look of apprehension on her face.

Reid pulled himself out of his bed and walked over to hers, taking a seat next to her feet. He placed his hand on her leg and his crystal blue orbs met her brown ones. He thought he could feel the goose bumps forming on her legs at his touch.

"Iz, we should talk about this," He licked his dry lips moistening them; she watched her heart fluttering as she watched him.

"What's there to talk about?" She asked him quietly. "You leave tomorrow afternoon and I'll never hear from you again,"

"That's not true," Reid's brows furrowed together, he didn't want her to think that, he didn't want this to be over.

"Really?" She scoffed shaking her head. "Tell me exactly how this is supposed to work between us Reid?"

"I'll come visit you, and when you get out of here we'll go on a date, make it official…"

"You are not going to want to drive to Gloucester just to see me," She adverted her gaze from him, not wanting to see the disappointment reflected in them.

"I will," He leaned forward his hand cupping her cheek gently.

"Why?" She shook her head, still not finding it in herself to look him in the eye.

"For you," He said as if it were the most obvious answer.

"Why would you come here all the way for me, it just doesn't make any sense at all Reid," She deducted trying to avoid his eye contact.

"Because," Reid closed his eyes and opened them again, "Iz, you make me feel things that I never thought I was capable of…" He laughed and shook his head. "I actually confessed to more than one person that I like you… a lot… which for me to do… Isobel, you have no idea how big of a feat that is…"

"Tyler told me," She blushed slightly glancing over at him. "When you and Caleb were out walking, he told me that you were hard to tame,"

"Oh he did?" Reid asked carefully.

"In so many words," She couldn't help but smile at the conversation that was had between her and the best friend of her roommate.

"I'll have to kick his ass for that," Reid stated shrugging. "It's true though," He cleared his throat. "Because of that I can't let you go… I can't let this go… that would be completely idiotic of me…" He reasoned. "I can do some pretty stupid shit, and half of the time I do shit without thinking… but this… this is different for me."

"The doctor said that," She paused and he cupped her face in his hands. "He said that we were good for each other," She smiled softly.

"So the man isn't an idiot after all," Reid grinned pulling her in to a long, tantalizing kiss.

Isobel slowly pulled away, she didn't want to take this further. Not before they figured things out.

"Reid," The way she said his name made his eyes open, a confused look on his face.

"What is it?" He asked her, he ran the back of his hand over her cheek.

"I'm scared,"

Her brown eyes were brimmed with tears and Reid shook his head, "You don't have to be scared… I promise you… I will fight for this… whatever _this_ is…"

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**I love fluff, it's my friend... and yours now too! :)**


	11. Weird

**A/N: **Thank you for the great reviews; I truly appreciate all of them.

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**Chapter 10: **_**Weird**_

Reid felt an immense amount of pain and worry wash over him. This was going to be difficult, he could see that now. It wasn't going to be as easy as coming to visit her in Gloucester every couple of days. He pulled her hands to his lips and kissed her knuckles.

"We'll make this work…"

That night Reid didn't move from her bed, they laid there together, just holding one another. He didn't want to leave her, but he knew he had to. He had to get back to school, he had to face the music and he had to get back to his life.

Tomorrow was going to be a difficult day, and he was going to need all his energy for it. Isobel already showed signs of regret for deciding to go through with this, but he kept assuring her that they would, and they could make this relationship work.

By the afternoon the next day he had been cleared to leave. Tyler had gathered his things and Reid was standing in the middle of the hospital room his arms wrapped securely around his roommate, pressing endless kisses in to her matted hair.

"I'll call you when I get home, ok?" He questioned pulling her away at arms length.

"Reid," The blonde looked at her, she had a small smile on her face.

"What is it, babe?" He asked her leading her back to her bed so she could sit down.

"I got some good news this morning," She whispered glancing up to see Tyler looking up from the door.

"Really, what is it?" He asked.

"My cancer," She whispered. His pale blue eyes looked at her with question, how could anything about her cancer be good news? "It's in remission,"

"Remission… that's the good thing, right?" He asked dumbfounded.

Isobel nodded her head holding in her laughter, "Yeah, that's the good thing…" She laughed.

Reid wrapped his arms around her and swung her around once and put her back on her bed, "This is fantastic…" He pressed his lips firmly to hers.

"So, I should be getting out of here by the end of the week" She smiled.

"Back to school?" He questioned.

"Yeah, back to Florence…" She frowned.

"I'll still come visit you whenever I can," He put his hand under her chin and she smiled at him.

"Call me when you get home?"

"Definitely will," He kissed her again, this time longer, his right arm hooked around her pulling her against him.

Tyler leaned against the door frame, his arms crossed over his chest as he watched them kiss a couple of more times, before Reid finally untangled himself from her and waved. Tyler hooked his arm around his best friend's shoulders and put their heads together in a friendly fashion.

"You've got it bad my friend,"

Reid shook his head and smiled, "I do, don't I?"

Tyler nodded his head in approval and Reid blushed profusely. Tyler laughed and led him out to the front of the hospital, glad to have his best friend back.

"You gonna be ok?" Tyler asked looking up at the hospital.

Reid looked up and sighed, "I don't know man… I really hope so..."

Tyler nodded and the two got back in the truck and headed back home, back to Ipswich. On the way back, Reid asked Tyler about his little 'mission' he asked his bet friend to go on.

"What'd you find out?" Reid asked propping his feet up on the dashboard.

"Her father is the governor's protégé…" Tyler remarked keeping his eyes on the road. "Her mother from old money…" The younger boy pursed his lips together. "She's an only child, and they made a 'public' announcement about her illness in 2005…"

"How could they do that to their own daughter?" Reid asked taking the folder that Tyler handed him from the backseat.

"I got copies of all the articles where they're mentioned, or she's mentioned." Tyler explained. "I couldn't get a hold of them, I tried... but he refuses to take phone calls, especially ones that pertain to his _daughter_…"

"What do you think of her?" Reid decided to change the topic; the thought of Isobel's parents was making him angry. He wanted to stay in his euphoric state so he wanted to tread on something lighter.

"She's a sweet girl, not your usual type…"

"Well she's not the usual girl," Reid answered.

"You're serious about this one, then?"

"More serious than I have been about any other girl,"

Tyler smiled and nodded his head, "I like her…"

Reid lifted an eyebrow and gave his best friend a questioning look.

"Not like that, I mean she's a sweet girl… and seems to care about you… so she's likable…"

Reid laughed hearing his best friend stutter over his words. The rest of the trip home consisted of Tyler telling Reid about what he'd missed in school. Reid only half listened to this part of their conversation.

They arrived back to the dorms and as soon as Tyler parked the car, Reid flipped open his cell phone and dialed her number. When she didn't answer on the third ring, Reid pursed his lips together and left her a message to call him back.

He figured she was asleep or perhaps going to see the Colonel, as they had dubbed their psychologist. Tyler grabbed his bag of dirty clothes and they headed up to their room. Reid left his cell phone with Tyler and went off to the showers.

Reid was happy to be home, but depressed at the same time. He was so used to waking up to see her beautiful face, the way those brown eyes stared at him, looking for answers she was bound to find. She could read him, almost as well as Tyler could.

She meant a lot to him, and he hoped that she knew that. He hoped that she wouldn't try and do anything stupid, make it to graduation then he'd move to Gloucester, or maybe he'd buy an apartment or house and they could go to BU together, live together.

He was jumping the gun, now, he realized washing the soap out of his blonde tresses. He was already thinking about graduation and that was still about four months away. He pursed his lips together and heard the door to the bathroom open.

Out of his peripheral vision he could see the frosted glass door open, a familiar face walked in next to him. The blonde closed his eyes, and summoned his power. Using he covered his wounds and hoped to God that the person beside him didn't say anything or ask questions.

"Garwin, where the hell you been?"

He should have known better.

"Like it matters to you, Abbot…" Reid snickered running the washcloth over his body.

"C'mon, it's not like you to miss three days of school, even if you are skipping or dipping your wick in some new slut…" Aaron smirked over at him, his curly brown hair flat against his scalp.

Reid shrugged his shoulders, "I was sick, simple as that."

Aaron scoffed but left it alone, he was going to buy Garwin's lame excuse, and that was only because the blonde 'bad boy' looked like shit. His face was paler, his eyes were blood shot, and he just looked fatigued. Though the two seemed like sworn enemies they were sometimes civil to one another, and Aaron wouldn't mess with Reid unless he was one-hundred percent and vice versa.

Reid finished up in the shower and grabbed his towel putting it around his waist. He grabbed his kit and headed to the sinks to shave, he looked a bit scruffy already, and his normally smooth skin was freckled by unwanted facial hair. And he needed to brush his teeth.

He was lathering up his face when Aaron stepped beside him, "You sure you're doing better, you don't look like it…" Aaron gave him a short look of concern.

"I'm good Abbot, thanks." Reid muttered as he finished up his routine in the mirror. He finished by brushing his teeth and Aaron sighed watching him walk away.

Reid sighed and wondered if the world was going to end. Was the Apocalypse near? He had fallen for a girl, a girl he hadn't even slept with, and Aaron Abbot was showing concern for him. Things were getting weird, a little too weird for his liking.

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**Aaron was concerned, how OOC... but I don't care... it just seemed right. My Aaron muse wanted to be nice, so he was being nice. (shrug) If you would kindly press the button to your left and REVIEW.**


	12. Girlfriend

**A/N:** Not much to say here, but thank you all again for the great support on these stories, I greatly appreciate them all!

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**Chapter 11: Girlfriend**

It had been almost exactly two days since he had left Gloucester Hospital. Since he had walked away from the girl that he had found himself falling deeper in like with than he could have ever imagined. Two days since he had spoken to her, and he was getting more concerned. He had called the hospital to speak with her, after the third time she didn't answer her phone, the nurse told him she was asleep.

He started to get more worried, and more anxious to return, so he found himself Friday after school jumping in his best friend's car and taking off, without letting Tyler know. He found himself calling her on and off the entire way up to Gloucester, and each call ended up in her voicemail.

Now he wasn't sure if he should be worried, pissed or maybe even jealous. Had she gotten a new roommate? Had she decided to completely disregard everything they talked about before he left? Had she forgotten hat he had told her how much he liked her.

Though, for her, that might not mean much. If she was one of the girls in Ipswich, one of the girls around town that knew exactly what he was like, she would understand. He pressed his foot down on the gas and used just because.

He wanted to get there faster, he wanted to see Isobel.

He parked his car, grabbed a visiting pass and headed straight up to their floor. He crossed by several familiar faces, waving slightly as they gave him looks of concern. He stopped in front of their door and signed the visiting sheet the guard shoved at him.

"She awake?" He asked signing his name.

"She's been awake for the last two hours," The guard replied lifting his chin to the door. "Go on in…"

Two hours, he had been calling her for the last hour at least, why hadn't she called him back? Did she find out about his precarious behavior before ending up in this joint? Had she completely shunned him for his previous indiscretions?

He opened the door and saw the look of pure shock on her face. The first thing out of his mouth wasn't a "Hello" or an "It's good to see you," instead it was a little more harsh, and brought her back to reality.

"Why haven't you answered my calls?"

Isobel licked her lips, looking for a good explanation. She had gotten his first message, she had gotten his first message, and all the ones following. A part of her wanted to believe every word he said, but a part of her couldn't. A part of her couldn't let go of her past, of all the things people had done to her, all the others that had runaway.

"I'm sorry, Reid…" Her voice was barely above a whisper.

Reid crossed the room, he noticed the empty bed, a bit relived when he took a seat on the end of hers. He pulled her hands in to his and kissed her knuckles, loving the feeling of her hands in his.

"I missed you, I was worried…" He pursed his lips together, he wanted to get angry with her, he wanted to yell at her for making him worry like he had, but he couldn't find it in him. He couldn't yell at something so beautiful.

"I'm sorry," She repeated.

He shook his head, "Why didn't you answer?"

Isobel stayed at the top of the bed, her hands still wrapped in his, feeling the comfort from him, "I was scared," She whispered.

"Scared of what?"

He wanted to trump that fear, he wanted to take it away and send it off.

"I didn't want you to leave," She felt the tears in her eyes as she spoke, slowly sliding down her paling face. "I was so scared,"

"I told you everything would be ok…" He reached up and pushed her bangs out of her face.

"I know," She sniffled and shook her head. "I couldn't believe you. I really wanted to," She croaked. "It's just hard… hard to let myself believe something that I've heard before…"

His heart literally broke at her words, "I wouldn't do that to you Iz," He shook his head. "I told you, I can't lose you… I can't lose the way you make me feel…"

"I know," She nodded. "I'm so sorry Reid, it was just so hard to believe… I really wanted to… and after all the calls… I kept telling myself to answer…"

"You should have, I wouldn't have done 90 on the way here…" He laughed.

"Ninety? Are you crazy?" Her eyes bugged out, her mouth fell open and Reid grinned.

"I certainly am," He grinned leaning in to meet her lips, "For you…"

Isobel blushed and kissed him back, she scooted closer to her, letting herself be. He pulled her close against his chest and held on to her, for what seemed like an eternity. He closed his eyes and Used, just this once, he objectified it as a night pass appeared in his hand behind his back.

"And look what I've got…" He held it up for her.

She looked at it and looked concerned, "A night pass, for what?" She asked.

Reid sighed and rolled his crystal blue eyes, "So I can take you out on our first date, of course…"

Isobel smiled and held it against her chest, "Seriously?"

He pursed his lips together and gave her a look that said it all. She laughed as she glanced down at her hospital gown, "You're going to have to leave the room so I can change…" She pointed out.

"That's what a bathroom's for babe," He remarked with a grin, lifting his chin to the bathroom that was in their room.

She shook her head, pulling herself out of bed she grabbed her large duffel bag and closed the door behind her. What was she going to wear on her first date? Wow, a date. She couldn't wrap her head around this. It had been so long since she had been on a date, so long since a guy actually knew everything about her and was going to take her out no matter the consequences.

She had been so scared that he wouldn't come back that she didn't want to answer his calls. She feared that if he did show up it was to tell her that he was done with her, especially after ignoring him. She quickly changed in to a pair of relaxed fitting jeans, a t-shirt and pulled on a hooded jacket, making sure to hide her wrists.

She walked out in to the room and Reid smiled seeing her dressed in normal street clothes, "You look great," He informed her.

"Are you a professional liar?" She asked calmly, a small smile on her lips.

"No," He shook his head. "I just know a beautiful girl when I see one,"

She smiled and took his extended hand as he pulled her towards the door, "How did you manage to get that?" She asked referring to the pass in his free hand.

"I have my ways," He grinned passing the guard at the door and handing the pass to the woman behind the desk. She scribbled down Isobel's room number, her name and time of departure, not really asking many questions.

"Be back by nine," The woman behind the desk stated.

"Nine?" Reid pursed his lips; he closed his eyes for a half of a second and offered a negotiation, "Ten?"

The woman glanced at him and nodded, "Ten," She jotted it down with a small smile.

Isobel diverted her gaze up at his gorgeous face and smirked, how did he do that? She shrugged her shoulders and wondered what he had in mind.

"Where are we going?" She asked him.

"I'm taking you to Nicky's…" He stated.

"Nicky's? What's Nicky's?"

Reid grinned, "Trust me; you're going to love it…"

Isobel narrowed her eyes at him and sighed, she wasn't so sure of this. He opened the car door for her, and she slid in to the vehicle, the black leather interior was cool as she got herself comfortable.

"Where is this Nicky's?"

"Ipswich," He replied.

She watched as he cranked up the large SUV and headed towards his hometown. Her eyes flew to the clock to see that is was just shy of five o'clock. It took roughly a half hour or forty five minutes to drive from Gloucester to Ipswich, or the other way around, so she relaxed, she trusted him.

She knew he wouldn't get her in to any trouble.

Reid smiled over at her, his right hand reaching over to take hers, "You're going to meet my friends, I hope you don't mind…"

Isobel glanced up at him and smiled, "The ones you thought weren't your real friends?" She held in her want to laugh at him.

Reid rolled his eyes, "Yes, those friends…" He nodded his head.

She grinned, "I can't wait…"

She tightened her grasp on his hand and he smiled, letting the soft rock music fill the truck. Isobel was staring out of the window; it felt nice to be out of the cramped hospital bed, to wear some real clothing. She glanced at the blonde for a second, to have a real boyfriend.

Boyfriend.

Was he really her boyfriend? The thought had crossed her mind, they were going out on a date, they were technically together, he wanted to be with her, and she with him. The word it just seemed to fit perfectly.

She didn't know if he approved of the term, she would just have to wait and see. Wait and see how he introduced her to his friends.

Thirty minutes in to the ride Reid's phone began to buzz in his pocket. He held the wheel steady with his knee and used his left hand to fish out the small piece of technology, not wanting to break his hold on Isobel's hand.

He held it up to his ear, his eyes on the road.

"Hello?" He hadn't bothered to look at the screen, Isobel noticed.

"_Where are you?" _Reid glanced over at her and she smiled at him.

"On my way to Nicky's… I'll be there in about ten minutes," Reid answered.

"_You could have told me you were taking the truck_,"

"Sorry, _dad_… emergency…" The corners of his mouth lifted in a grin as he spoke to his best friend, Isobel could tell.

"_Smart ass, you bringing Isobel_?"

"You wish," He grinned, and Isobel felt her stomach flutter, she loved it when he smiled. She didn't dislike his smirks, but sometimes they fit him, his personality, but she absolutely loved it when he smiled or showed that he was genuinely content.

"_Alright man, I'll see you in ten_,"

"Later baby boy,"

Reid hung up his phone and tossed a glance at the dark haired girls sitting next to him, a genuine smile graced her pink lips. He loved that she wasn't wearing any make-up, her hair was pulled in to a tight pony, letting the thick dark brown hair curly in many different directions.

She was exactly the kind of girl he had always pictured himself with, if he had ever thought of having a serious girlfriend. He had dealt with way too many high-maintenance girls from Spenser, he wanted someone who was low-key, laid back and didn't have to wear a pound of make up on her face to look pretty.

"Here we are," He lifted his chin to the bar he parked in front of.

Isobel looked at the place and then back at Reid, this wasn't exactly the kind of place she expected him or his friends to hang out in. He pulled the keys out and glanced over at her, seeing the odd look on her face he grinned.

"What's up?"

"N-Nothing," She shook her head giving him a small smile.

Reid got out of the driver's side of the car and ran over to open the door for her just as she was about to reach it. She gave him a grateful smile and accepted the hand he offered her. They walked in just like that, Reid smiling like an idiot, holding her hand.

She walked in and immediately felt a wave of comfort fall over her. Why? She wasn't sure, but there was something a bout this place that just felt right. She smiled and followed him weaving through the smoking, drinking patrons.

He released her hand but only to connect with the hand of his best friend, whom Isobel recognized right away, along with the others at the table. She gave a polite smile to them when Reid took her hand again and pulled her under his arm.

"Isobel Brady, these are my best friends…" He pointed to the table. "You know Tyler…" He pointed to the dark haired, blue eyed boy and she nodded sending him a pleased smile. "You met Caleb the other day," he pointed to the dark haired boy who seemed to be always brooding. "The others…" He gestured to the last three, "My other best friend, Pogue Parry…" He pointed to the long haired, leather clad guy. She would have been scared of him if it wasn't for the smile on his face, and the spark of playfulness in his hazel eyes.

"Nice to meet you guys," She nodded her head and glanced at the girls.

"This is Caleb's girlfriend… Sarah Wenham…" He pointed to the blonde, whom she had thought was his girlfriend days ago. "And Pogue's girlfriend, Kate Tunney…" He motioned to the beautiful girl with dark, long hair that hit her waist.

He paused for a second, and she frowned a bit, half-expecting him to introduce her as his girlfriend, but the other part of her told her not to. She felt her heart sink and he pressed a kiss to her temple, "Fellas, Sarah, Kate… this is my girlfriend Isobel…"

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**Read & Review... because you know you want to... ;)**


	13. Room 224

**A/N: **You guys are great. I love the response, and hopefully you'll love the chapter (and the rest of the story too!).

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**Chapter 12 – **_**R**oom__ 224_

It was just about ten o'clock when Reid was getting Isobel situated back in her hospital bed. He despised the fact that he had to leave her again, and probably wouldn't be able to see her until tomorrow afternoon. He had obligatory swim practice to make up for the last few days that he missed.

He pushed her hair out of her face and left a kiss on her forehead, "I had a really great time tonight," She smiled at him. "And your friends," She casted him a short glance, "Are incredible."

"They are pretty incredible, aren't they?"

Isobel nodded her head and Reid held on to her hand, sitting in his spot at the edge of her bed. They had all played a round of pool against each other, talked, ate, drank… and just had a really great time. For the first time, in a long time, Isobel felt like a real teenager. She felt like a real person, and she felt like she had real friends.

"So I get out of here on Monday," She informed him a cute little smile resting on her pink lips.

"Going back to Florence?" He asked her carefully.

"Yeah," She nodded her head quietly.

"You going to be ok going back there?"

"Yeah," She assured him with a small smile, though she wasn't sure to be honest.

"Is someone coming to pick you up to bring you back to the dorms?" He watched her, worry etched in to his face as she hesitated.

Looking down at their hands she shook her head, "No," licking her lips she continued, "I was going to just call a cab –"

Reid shook his head, "No way, I am not letting you catch a cab…" She furrowed her brow. "I'll come pick you up,"

"Reid, you have swim practice after school," She indicated.

"That's alright, I'll skip it… and I'll pick you up and bring you back to your dorm."

"I can't let you do that…"

"I can't let you take a cab, and that overrules me skipping practice, coach will live."

Isobel gave up, defeated, she wasn't used to people helping her, or taking charge or arguing with her over what she was going to do. She had come to rely on herself and herself only. Especially these days.

"You're incredible Mr. Garwin, do you realize that?"

"I've been told a time or two…" He grinned at her, his tone was playful. She laughed and gave him a small slap in the chest. "Look, my birthday is next week…"

She sobered up a little bit and looked at him, "How come you didn't tell me?"

"I just did…" He pointed out.

"I meant when you were here?"

"I don't know… the thought slipped my mind."

It hadn't. He couldn't forget that his birthday was next Friday, not only just his birthday, his eighteenth birthday. His Ascension, but he couldn't exactly tell her that, now could he? No of course not, because they had to keep their amazing _abilities_ a secret. And what sucked even worse was that after he ascended, anytime he used after that it took away parts of his life.

The Garwin line was known for being addicted easily. He had calmed down his using a lot, especially after the entire Chase incident. It scared him out of his wits, almost losing not only Pogue and Kate, but Sarah and Caleb as well. He wasn't willing to risk that.

And now. Now he had someone. Now he had a girl to protect, someone to look after him, someone to curve his craving to use the seductive power.

She shook her head, "You're incredible, and you're terrible…"

"An interesting combination, no?"

She couldn't help but grin back at him; she pulled his face closer to hers and kissed him.

"I'm having a huge party, and I really, really want you to come… if you're up for it." He gave her those sad baby blue eyes, "The birthday boy needs a date…"

Isobel laughed, "And risk losing you to some rich, blond, fake Spenser brat, I wouldn't miss it for the world,"

Reid kissed her again, "I'll let you rest, but I'll be up tomorrow,"

"You don't have to – "

"I want to," He cut her off.

She smiled and pulled him in to a long, warm kiss. Reid smiled against her lips, "Get some rest, ok?"

She nodded her head and watched him leave, feeling her heart beat quicken as soon as he left the room.

Isobel found that the weekend went just as quickly as it had come. She sighed heavily resting back in her bed the following Monday. She had been excited to see Reid Saturday when he came to see her. She had loved his company, and he had taken her out to the courtyard.

They had a picnic for lunch, and just talked. Like they were old friends, holding hands and sneaking kisses in whenever possible. Sunday he was able to snag another night pass, and she was out with him at Nicky's with his friends again, and then on the shore, taking a long walk.

He didn't want to leave her that night, and he had told her so. He contemplated staying the night in the single bed that was in the room, and skipping school. Isobel refused, she told him he was missing too much school and he needed to go.

But here she sat, alone on Monday morning, anticipating the afternoon when Reid would come and pick her up. She was dreading going back to Florence, but loved the idea out getting out of the hospital.

She was afraid of the rumors that were spread about her; she was worried about the way people would look at her. More importantly, of all the work she had missed. They had tried to keep her up to date over the last couple of weeks, but it was nearly impossible between her treatments, and her two attempts.

Late that afternoon she was packing up the last of her things, the door opened and a pair of arms wrapped around her middle. She smiled leaning back in to him, his chin resting on her shoulder.

"I missed you," He whispered softly in to her ear.

"Mmm, missed you too…" She mumbled a fluttering feeling in the pit of her stomach. His touches drove her insane.

"Ready to get the hell out of here?" He asked.

She turned around in his arms, her brown eyes wide, "You have no idea,"

"Good," He grinned pressing those thin, perfect lips to hers.

He grabbed her duffel bag; she slipped her book bag over her shoulders. Reid gracefully pulled her smaller hand in to his and intertwined their fingers. She stopped them at the door and smiled looking back at the two empty beds.

"Neither of us is ever going to have to see this room again," Reid whispered pulling her in close to his side. He pressed a kiss to her temple and she smiled nodding her head.

Room 224, she glanced at the number on the door. A number she would never forget, she told herself; the place where she had met her boyfriend, the place where her life seemingly turned around, and the place where she had let her guard down and let her self fall.

Reid gave her hand a tug and she followed behind him. She had signed all of her papers for her discharge, and she was free to go. She received goodbyes from every person on that floor. She and Reid made their exit and he happily tossed her bag in the backseat of the black Hummer.

The blonde slid in to the driver's seat, she glanced over at him, a genuine smile on her face. She couldn't remember the last time she had been this happy. She glanced down at her lap, and her gaze shifted to her legs.

It had been a long time, a very long time. Before she found out about the cancer, before she started harming herself. All before the doctors ran so many tests, and the school started talking about her.

All of this, she shook her head. It had happened just before her father decided that he was going to run for Governor. Before her mother's socialite status was miffed by alleged infidelities. Before the girls at school started spreading rumors about her, about her boyfriend at the time. Rumors that she had found out weren't just rumors, they were the truth.

The first boy that she had trusted with her heart, the first one, decided to snatch it up, rip it in half and give it back to her. With a simple apology and leaving with his new girl. The thought left a filthy taste in her mouth.

Her face distorted and she tried to push it away.

"You ok?" Reid casted a glance over at her, she looked up and realized that the hospital was in the distance now.

She met her boyfriend's gaze and nodded her head, "I'm fine, sorry…"

"Why are you sorry?" He asked one hand on the steering wheel the other searching for a free hand to hold on to.

Isobel slipped her hand on top of his and laced their fingers. He wasn't wearing those god awful gloves on his hands. She loved the feeling of his soft, pale skin on hers.

"I was thinking, I wasn't paying attention to you…"

Reid laughed and brought her hand to his mouth, placing a gentle kiss over her knuckles, "You can ignore me all you want, as long as you're thinking about me…" He lifted an eyebrow in question.

She blushed shyly and shook her head, "I was thinking about… something else…"

"Another guy?" Reid asked treading carefully over the subject.

"Kind of,"

"Oh really?" His tone as somewhat hurt and she immediately regretted it.

"Not like that," She tried to assure him. "I was thinking about an ex-boyfriend," Her voice was sad, but as soon as she said it she regretted it again.

Reid stared over at her and then snapped his attention back to the road, he loosened his grip on her hand, "Well,"

"No," She shouted shaking her head violently. "I didn't mean like that, I didn't mean it in a good way…" She grabbed his arm with both of her hands. "Reid, I promise… I wasn't thinking like that… I just…" She bit her bottom lip. "I was thinking about everything that happened before this…"

He looked over at her, held her gaze, which made her a bit nervous since he was driving, but she didn't want him to stop looking at her. She wanted him to see that she was telling the truth, she wasn't thinking good things about her ex.

"Tell me," Was all he said.

"I…" She took a deep breath. "I just realized that this is the first time in a long time that I've been genuinely happy."

She saw the smile tug at Reid's lips and felt a bit of relief.

"I haven't felt like this since before I found out I had cancer…" She bit her bottom lip. "Before I was with Vince, and before my father decided he wanted to run for governor."

"Who's this Vince guy?"

"My ex-boyfriend," She looked out the window, away from Reid. "He was the first guy that I dated after I found out about the cancer." She licked her lips, stealing a glance at him. "And I let myself fall for him," Reid looked at her, swallowing hard. "He uh, he was perfect at first y'know? He did everything right…"

Kind of like Reid was doing now, she noted. She shook her head, Reid was nothing like Vince. Vince was a complete asshole. Vince used you to show off to his parents, and then was screwing some girl behind your back.

"Most of the time when we went out it was with his parents, or to functions with both of our parents." She sighed heavily. "His father is the governor of Massachusetts right now… my father's role model, sorta-say." She shook her head. "My father loved that, ate it up for publicity… so did Vince and so did his father."

"Oh God," Reid saw right where this was going.

"He was using me," Isobel bit her bottom lip, trying to hold back the tears. "I fell in love with him, and he used me for his own gain." She didn't dare look at him now, the tears brimming her eyes. "I lost my virginity to him, and I find out that not only does the entire school know…" She scoffed. "But then I find out that he's screwing around behind my back with the schools biggest slut."

"What an asshole," Reid muttered angrily slamming his hands down on the steering wheel.

If he ever got his hands on this Vince guy, Governor's son or not, Reid was going to beat the shit out of him. He tightened his grip on Isobel's hand. He gave her a small, encouraging smile and she sighed.

"I asked him about it, told him I didn't want to see him anymore… he used it against me. He told me he'd tell my father that he 'de-flowered' his little princess." Isobel shuddered at the feeling. "So instead, I told my dad what happened…" She couldn't fight the tears. "He laughed, and told me that all members of the political party do things they don't want to. He told me to keep dating Vince; it would look good for the family…"

Reid's mouth fell open; he was beginning to hate her parents more and more, "Can you believe that? He told me to forget it and just keep dating him…"

"I'm not sure who the bigger asshole is…" Reid managed.

"So I dumped him, right in front of both of our families…" She smirked at the memory. "It was finally the firs thing I had done for myself in a long time." She moistened her lips again, "My father about died… when I told _his_ father what happened, I found out that they had forced him to stay away from Amber, and he was using me as a smokescreen."

Reid shook his head and rubbed his thumb over her knuckles, "I'm sorry that happened to you, Iz…"

She smiled over at him, "Me too, but you know what…" She whispered.

"What?" He asked.

"If this hadn't of happened…" She leaned over the center console to get closer to him. "I would have never met you," She placed a kiss at the corner of his mouth and he smiled.

"I feel the same exact way," He stated briefly turning his head so that he could kiss his girlfriend before turning in to Florence Academies Dormitory parking lot.

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**I love fluff, and Isobel and Reid. And I love Tyler too. LOL (don't ask me where the I love Tyler came from. I just do) Anyway, please review, because I seriously love _IT_ in the worst way.**


	14. Perfect

**A/N: **This chapter was a little difficult to get out. I don't know why, but I think I'm getting back in the swing of things. I'm looking at maybe seven more chapters; but we'll see! :)

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**Chapter 13 – Perfect**

It had started. As soon as she stepped foot inside of the lobby of the Florence Dormitory, all eyes were on her. But, she wasn't alone. Reid was next to her, his hand securely in hers, he was leaned over to her, whispering something casually in to her ear.

Isobel realized that the girls weren't just staring at her, they were staring at Reid. The corners of her mouth lifted as he glanced at them casually, ignoring them and walking up the first flight of stairs, and soon the second.

"I guess I don't have to worry about any jackasses hitting on you when you're in your dorm…"

His grin was contagious. She smiled at him, Florence had two sets of dorms; one for their girl students and another for their male students. Shaking her head she kissed his cheek.

"You don't even have to worry about the male population at this school, period…" She remarked.

"Oh, so I got to watch out for the chicks, huh?

He always knew how to make her laugh; make the uncomfortable situation, comfortable. She adored that about him. They made it to her floor and she nearly fell out when the girls started talking about Reid, as if they knew him.

"She's with one of the Sons…"

"What is he doing with _her_?"

"Maybe he's doing community service,"

She snickered at that one, Reid didn't seem phased, simply kept walking to her dorm number; her hand tightly in his grasp. She pulled out her keys and handed them to Reid as he unlocked the door.

Walking in she felt a wave of reality wash over her. She was going back to school, back to the gossiping world of prep school. She hated the thought of it. Reid let go of her hand and tossed her duffel on to the ground.

His blue eyes surveyed the room; one side was lived in, obviously her side of the room by the pictures of what appeared to be family and friends. The other side of the room didn't look touched, he noticed the sad look on her face.

"Did you have a roommate before?" His voice was low.

Her sad brown eyes looked up at him and nodded, "Bailey Thompson, she was a bitch… I didn't really like her anyway…"

Reid grinned and hugged his girlfriend. He was uneasy about her staying by herself, and voiced his offer to stay with her.

"No," She shook her head, "I'll be fine,"

"Promise?" He gave her a look that said she'd better be fine.

"I promise you," She grinned leaning forward to place a chaste kiss on his thin lips. "I'll call you later, ok?" She asked, the smile on her face, he noticed, was forced.

"Ok, call me in a half hour, I should be home by then,"

She nodded giving him a simple kiss before watching him leave down the hallway. She watched him, half expecting him to flirt with one of the many girls in the hallway. Instead, she noticed, his head was down, staring at his feet.

Reid felt like she was shutting him out, he couldn't fight that feeling. He didn't like it. He wanted to be there for her, even if it meant staying the night in Gloucester. It was only a half hour away from Ipswich, it wasn't a long ride at all.

When he got back to the dorms, Tyler was passed out sleeping, his face buried deep in to his pillow. Reid smirked and felt his phone vibrating, he happily fished it out and answered.

"I was worried," He answered.

"About what?"

Her voice was low, as if she was lying in bed, "You weren't going to call."

He could picture her, blanket rested carelessly over her chest, one hand behind her head and the other holding the phone to her ear. He could see the smile dancing on her lips, teasingly.

"I had every intention to call," She announced.

"You sure?"

"Of course,"

Reid let out a low laugh, carefully undressing as he slipped in to bed; cell phone still to his ear. They hung up with promises to call each other the following day.

Reid had just stumbled out of the pool and in to the locker room. He could hear a violently buzzing sound over the loud yelling and talking of his fellow swim team. He skipped past the showers and headed to his locker

The buzzing got louder and he realized that it was his phone. Pulling open his locker he took out his phone and saw his girlfriend's name staring back at him. He flipped the phone open and answered.

"Hello?"

"Re-Reid…" Her voice was broken, she sounded like she was crying.

"Iz, baby… what's wrong?"

He could hear her sniffling on the other end of the line. He tried calming her down, doing everything he could being over a half hour away. He changed quickly, keeping her on the phone and steeling Tyler's car keys.

"I'm on my way, ok… just hang tight…"

He could only make out partially what she was saying, he couldn't understand everything over the static of the line, the break in her voice, the sobs. He felt his heart breaking at the sound of her voice, so distraught, so upset.

It killed him.

He barely had time to park the car when he ran inside of Florence's dormitory. He flew up to the second floor and right to his girlfriend's room. He breathlessly told her he was outside of her door and hung up as she swung open the door.

Her face was red, her eyes bloodshot. Reid sighed heavily and pulled her in to a long hug, using his foot to close the door behind him. He pressed his lips in to her messy hair and held her tightly, not wanting to let go.

Isobel didn't want him to let go. She felt horrible. She had gone back to school and was followed by rumors, and horrible stories. Nasty half-truths and even nastier lies.

"What happened?"

She didn't say anything; Reid pursed his lips together and pulled away from her.

"What's wrong?"

She was silent, "Everything…"

Reid sat down on her bed, pulling her in to his arms. He wasn't going to make her talk until she was ready. He didn't want to make it any more difficult for her than he had to.

She settled down, composed herself and stared at Reid. He was incredible, she realized that. He made everything better just by being there, just by holding her tightly, as if he was never going to let her go.

And she didn't mind.

"Are you ok?" His voice was full of concern and Isobel looked up to meet his eye. She felt a tingling sensation throughout her body when their eyes met.

"I am now," She whispered holding on to him.

"You want to tell me what happened?"

She loved the calming tone of his voice; it made her believe that everything was going to be ok. If he promised her the world right now, she thought, she'd probably believe him. Taking a deep breath she nodded her head.

"It was just like I thought it would be…" She looked down at her hands, her skinny fingers intertwined with his. "They were so brutal," Shaking her head she felt the tears forming again. "They said such terrible things, and I couldn't… I just couldn't take it…"

"Hey, hey… it doesn't matter what they think Iz…" Reid brushed her tears away. "Ok?"

Isobel sighed and sniffled, "It's hard to ignore them Reid. They talk about me like I'm not even there. They say such horrible things and then…" She looked up to meet his eye. "They talk about you… about us…"

Reid's back stiffened at the sound of this, "They do?"

"Yeah," She whispered.

"Say things like what?"

"That you're only with me because you like challenges…" Isobel licked her lips, and stared down at her carpeted floor. "Or that once you sleep with me, you're going to leave… and I shouldn't get my hopes up…"

"You don't believe that do you?" Reid asked his breath caught in his throat. She was quiet for a minute and Reid pulled away from her looking her dead in the eye. "Iz, you can't believe what they say…"

"They said that guys like you don't fall for girls like me…"

Reid was flabbergasted. He hated that these people, people he didn't even know, were telling _his _girlfriend things they didn't even know the first thing about. It drove him crazy, and what made him even angrier was the fact that Isobel was buying in to this.

"Why would you even listen to them?" He asked her, his voice lacing with a bit of anger.

Isobel swallowed hard, "I always wondered what a guy like you would see in a girl like me…" She whispered to him quietly, holding on to his hand.

"What do you mean 'a guy like me'?" He questioned. "What is that supposed to mean exactly?"

"Reid… you're perfect," She smiled at him, and Reid's face fell.

If there was one word to describe Reid Garwin, it definitely was not perfect. It warmed his insides to hear her say this, even though he was sure that wasn't true.

"I'm hardly perfec—"

"Would you be quiet for a second?" She laughed cutting him off; she shook her head holding his face in her hands. "I think you're perfect. You're an amazing person Reid…and I never thought a guy that could be so narcissistic, pig headed, stubborn and damn sexy could be a guy that I could fall for, let alone have him after me…"

Reid's lips twitch and he kissed her quickly, "I fell for you too…"

Isobel shook her head, "I hate it here," She whispered.

"You should come to Spenser," The words slipped out of his mouth before he actually thought them through.

Isobel's brow deepened at the thought, "I can't…" She whispered.

"Why not?"

"My father would never let me switch schools in the middle of the semester, especially not after just getting out…" She shook her head. "Besides, the _Governor's_ kids go here, so that means his do to…"

"Spenser's a better school then Florence…" Reid tried to sell her off.

Isobel fell back on to her bed and sighed, "I would give anything to be able to pack my crap up and go with you to Spenser, but it's not going to happen."

Reid smirked and pressed his lips to her, "We'll see about that,"

* * *

**So... what do you want to see happen?**


	15. Information

**A/N: **My excuse for this chapter... there is none... I needed a filler/buffer and viola... this chapter! :)

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**Chapter 14 – Information**

Reid stared at the computer screen. He had been sitting in the same spot for over twenty minutes now, wondering how in the world Tyler did this. Aggravated and slightly hungry he slammed his hands down on the key board in frustration.

"Whoa, what's wrong Reid?" Tyler questioned entering the room.

"How do you do this shit?"

Tyler could see the look of aggravation on his best friend's face. He shook his head and walked over to him.

"What are you trying to do?" Seeing Reid on the lap top made Tyler laugh. If there was one thing Reid Garwin was not good at, it would be this; doing anything remotely useful on the computer. He peered over his slender shoulder and smirked.

"Trying to find the number for Isobel's father,"

Tyler laughed clamping a hand down on his friend's shoulder. He grabbed a folder that was lying mere inches away and opened it up for the blonde young man. Reid watched carefully, his pale blue eyes flicking over the information that Tyler shoved under his nose. He looked up at Tyler his eyes smiling as he grabbed the paper.

"Seriously, it's not like I got the information and tossed it…" Tyler laughed.

Reid picked up his cell phone and slid it open; he punched in the number listed. Putting the piece of technology to his ear he waited to hear the ring. After the third ring it went to a voicemail.

Reid's brow furrowed and he decided to leave a message, "Hello Mr. Brady… uhh—my name's Reid and I wanted to talk to you about your daughter, Isobel… Please give me a call back it's important," The blonde rattled off his number and hung up.

Tyler ran a hand through his hair shaking his head, "He's not going to call back," The brunette boy stated.

Reid sighed heavily, resting his head in his hands, "That's what I was afraid of…."

Tyler had been right, it had been nearly four days since he called Isobel's father. He had left three messages and even called him at work, but the receptionist said he was 'busy'. Reid cursed loudly and muttered something about being busy.

Tyler's blue eyes cut up to his best friend and shook his head, glancing at his watch, "Don't you have to pick up Iz?"

Reid glared at him, "Don't call her that…"

Tyler's brow furrowed confused, "But…"

"That's _my_ nickname for her… and _I'm_ the only one who can use it because _I'm_ her boyfriend…"

Tyler took a step back and shook his head, "Jesus Reid, it's just a nickname… relax…"

Reid's blue eyes softened and he shook his head, "Sorry man, I just… I don't know…" He laughed and fell back on his bed.

"Boy do you got it bad," Tyler snickered and collapsed on to his bed. "But seriously, aren't you supposed to be on your way to picking up Isobel?"

"Yep," He sat up and stared at the clock. "She texted me and told me she'd be running a little behind,"

"Do you not go the entire day without talking to her?" He questioned watching his best friend slide the hoodie over his shoulders.

"Why would I want to?" Reid retorted grabbing his best friend's keys. "Catch you a Nicky's tonight?"

Tyler smiled and nodded his head, laughing as the blonde boy disappeared out of the dorm. The brunette flipped on to his stomach and stared at the door, realizing that he wished he could be as happy as Reid seemed to be. Sighing he rested his forehead on his forearms and closed his eyes.

Reid sped most of the way to Gloucester, slowing down only when he got on to main roads, or high traffic areas. He pulled in to Florence Academy parking lot and headed inside. He could hear the girls murmurs and he rolled his eyes.

He made it to Isobel's floor and was almost to her room when his name came off of some girl's lips. He turned around and saw a slightly familiar face. He squinted and felt his heart stop when he realized who the girl was.

"What are you doing here?" She asked distastefully.

Reid blinked and shook his thoughts, "Picking someone up," He scratched the back of his neck.

"So the rumors are true?" She asked with a nasty smirk on his lips, "You're dating Isobel Brady?"

"And if I am?" Reid questioned his voice rising an octave.

"What could _you_ possibly see in a girl like her?" The red head barked her perfectly white, perfectly straight teeth bearing at him.

"Let's see…" Reid crossed his arms over his chest, his right hand rising to his face, and Reid slowly tapped his fingers to his chin. "She's everything you're not… nor will you ever be"

Isobel had stepped out of the hallway when she heard his voice, she had caught the last part of the conversation and couldn't help but smile at Reid's words. The red head's eyes glassed over and she snapped her chin up trying to regain her pride.

"You don't know what you're missing Garwin," She barked hatefully.

Reid glanced over his shoulder and noticed his girlfriend, he smirked back at the red head and lifted his shoulder, "I got everything I want right there…" He lifted his chin to Isobel who blushed.

He had been momentarily caught off guard by the gorgeous girl with red fiery hair, but he didn't let it shake him. She was a part of his long-gone past and he didn't want anything to do with her, he had Isobel. He wouldn't let anything jeopardize that. Not even an old flame.

He walked over to Isobel and brought her in for an intense kiss, she pulled away blushing furiously and glanced over his shoulder to see the red head fuming. She cleared her throat and held on to the partially open door.

"How do you know Fran?" She asked looking up in to those luminous blue eyes.

Reid toyed with the collar of his shirt and shrugged, "We go back,"

"You screwed around with her?" Isobel asked flatly, waiting for his honest answer.

Reid didn't really know how to answer it, Frances McDermott had been the first girl that ever made him second guess his way of living. She had been there for him, and he dated her, and then ended up cheating on her while drunk at a party. She had been completely embarrassed and asked her parents to transfer schools.

It only seemed fitting that she was attending the very same school that his girlfriend was attending. The one girl he was more than positive would pull him out of his old lifestyle.

"We uh—we dated… for awhile…" Reid rolled his neck uncomfortably.

"You dated Frances McDermott?" He saw the sadness in her beautiful brown eyes and instinctively wanted to take it away.

"It was a long time ago, baby…" He pushed her dark brown bangs out of her face and smiled at her.

"What did she want?"

He shook his head, "Doesn't matter, I don't want her…" He grinned. "Only you," He kissed the tip of her nose and grabbed her hands. "Now c'mon… our friends are waiting…" He mused.

Isobel smiled at him and grabbed her purse, locking her door the couple walked past Frances without a second glance her way. The dark haired girl felt the smile tug at her lips as she heard Frances stomp her foot angrily and slam her dorm door shut.

Reid felt the corners of his mouth lift in a smile seeing Isobel pleased.

There was one thing that Reid Garwin really hated in life; and that was being ignored. And he was being ignored by his girlfriend's father, who wouldn't give him the time of day. It was really starting to irk his last nerve.

"Ty," Reid came barging in to their room, scaring the daylights out of his best friend.

"Jesus Reid," He held his chest, placing the book in his hands down.

"I need your help,"

"I am not writing your American Government paper, sorry…" The brunette shook his head.

"Not that," He swatted his hand in the air for emphasis. "I need your help… I want to get Isobel's fathers location… of where he works… y'know?"

Tyler lifted his chin to his best friend. He pulled himself off of the bed and sat himself in front of the lap top. Reid hovered over him as the younger boy typed away furiously at the keys. After several minutes Reid flopped down on to his bed.

"Got it," Tyler grinned manically.

Reid sat up and watched as the printer started buzz, and Tyler snatched it up and handed it over to his best friend. Reid grinned like a maniac and held the paper up to meet his gaze.

"Can't wait to meet you Mr. Michael Brady," Reid muttered clenching the paper in his fist.

* * *

**I seriously had her dad's name as Thomas Brady, but then I figured... No... I love my Pats, but I'm not going to name the evil dad of my OFC Tom Brady, cause I heart him.**

REVIEW! :)


	16. Negotiations

**A/N: **I felt compelled to write more for my other stories. And I really loved this one when I first started writing it. And it's still one of my favorites, so I had to bring it back from the small hiatus that it was on. I can't promise a speedy update, but I sure as hell will try!

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**Chapter 15 – Negotiations**

He paced just outside of the front doors; he wasn't sure how he was going to pull this off. He didn't even know what he was going to say to get in to see him. Let alone what he was going to say once he_ did_ get in to see Isobel's father.

His mind ran had nearly run a marathon when he tripped over a realization.

He was a Garwin.

All of the Sons of Ipswich had family intertwined in to the annoying world of politics, especially in Massachusetts. His father alone had been a very influential man, even with the Governor himself. He could definitely use this to his advantage.

He walked in to the office, an air of confidence around him; he wasn't going to be nervous about this. He couldn't let it show. The blonde strode towards the front desk, his stomach slowly turning. Ok, so maybe he was a little nervous, but these weren't exactly the circumstance he was hoping to meet his girlfriend's father under.

The last time he had felt like this was after his father died and when Pogue was in the hospital. His mood darkened at the thought. As soon as he had found out about Pogue he wanted to go after Chase himself. He wanted to hurt the warlock the same way he hurt his friend.

Now that he thought about it, it seemed like such a long time ago. But it wasn't.

He pushed the thoughts away as he stepped up to the desk. An older blond woman sat behind a huge oak desk. She was a pretty good looking woman, however she was probably a good ten to fifteen years older than him; if not more.

She looked Reid over, her eyes sweeping over him before she spoke.

"Can I help you?"

A couple of weeks ago Reid would have flipped the question on her, meet her on her break and screw her five way s from Sunday. But not now, not ever… the thought hadn't even crossed his mind.

"I'm here to see Michael Brady…"

His voice didn't sound as nervous as he felt at that moment, which he saw as a good thing. The woman looked down at the calendar under her keyboard.

"Do you have an appointment?"

He watched her pop a bubble in her gum and cringed, he hated that sound.

"No, but it's important and I really need to speak with him…"

"I'm sorry kid, but he's a very busy man…" The woman stated.

Reid gave her a devilish grin and leaned against the desk, "Trust me, he wouldn't want to miss what I have to say…"

Her cheeks flushed slightly and she looked over her shoulder, "What's your name?"

"Reid, I'm the son of Joseph Garwin, please make sure you tell Mr. Brady that…" He pointed out.

The woman nodded before she got up and headed to the large double doors behind her.

She walked in to the office and the man behind the desk turned to look at her, "Can I help you with something Charlotte?" He asked.

"T—There's some here to see you sir… he said it was important that he speak with you," She replied.

He waited for her to continue, when she didn't he narrowed his eyes at her, "Well, who is it?"

"He says he's Joseph Garwin's son… sir…" She retorted.

Michael Brady was about to wave her off when the last name registered in his mind, "Garwin, you said?" She nodded her head and gave a look of what appeared to be horror. He nodded his head, "Send him in,"

The woman nodded and walked out to her desk, she gave the blonde boy a nervous smile before gesturing with her hand, "Mr. Brady will see you…" She retorted.

Reid smiled at her, making her cheeks flush wildly. He swept past her and straight in to the room, shutting the door behind him. He eyed up the man that was standing, now, on the other side of the desk. He was gruff looking, and he immediately did not like this man, at all.

"Joseph Garwin's son?" He asked raising an eyebrow. "I was expecting someone a little older," He mused.

Reid snorted, "My name is Reid Garwin, and I am in fact Joseph Garwin's son…" The blonde boy stepped further in to the room.

"Well my boy, please come in, take a seat…"

Reid shook his head, "No sir, I'd rather stand…" He stated not letting his straight face falter.

Mr. Brady's mouth pulled in to a straight line as he took a seat in his large leather chair. He laced his fingers behind his head and waited for the blonde boy to tell him why he was there. When he didn't speak he decided to ask.

"To what do I owe this pleasure, Mr. Garwin?"

"I need to speak to you about something," Reid replied taking a step closer to the desk.

"Interested in politics my boy?" Isobel's father questioned with a smug grin on his face.

"Actually no," He shook his head, "I'm here to talk to you about your daughter, Isobel…"

Michael's face fell at the sound of his daughter's name. Reid's fists clenched at his sides noticing the reaction. He took another step forward his eyes boring in to the older man's.

"Wh—How, how do you know my daughter?" Michael asked clearing his throat, a look of complete bafflement on his face.

"If you knew anything about her, you would know…" Reid snapped. Michael stared at him, taken back by the boy's harsh tone. Reid swallowed and shook his head, "I was roomed with her at Gloucester Memorial,"

Michael's face paled. Reid could read the man's mind without using his power's at all., he leaned against the desk and stared the older man down.

"You know?"

"That you're an insensitive prick?" Reid challenged. "Oh yeah, I knew as soon a I was conscious." Pale blue eyes dared the older man to reciprocate.

"Excuse me?" He breathed

"I want to know why you never came to visit Isobel, at all."

"I—I couldn't see my only daughter like… that…" He fumbled over his words, his sincerity not reaching his eyes.

Reid scoffed, "Did you really think your daughter being sick, so sick that she's tried to kill herself, would be bad publicity?" His voice held a certain malice that was strange even for him.

"You know nothing about my daughter or _our_ situation…" Michael was now leering over the desk, his eyes flashing violently in Reid's direction.

"That, Mr. Brady, is where you're absolutely… wrong…" Reid pointed out. "I know Isobel very well,"

Michael's face contorted in to a scowl, "Group therapy for attention starved teens?" The older man glared bitterly.

Reid's fists clenched at his sides. He had never hated some one as much as he was beginning to hate this man. How he had sired such an amazing person, was beyond him.

Reid leaned forward, "No, Mr. Brady…" Reid breathed, not daring to drop his gaze. "You're daughter, Isobel… she's my girlfriend…"

He watched as the older man's jaw nearly hit the desk in shock. He was flabbergasted, Reid watched as his mouth open and closed slowly trying to form words to say.

"And let me tell you something else about_ your _daughter that _you_ don't know…" Reid didn't blink, "She's miserable at Florence Academy." He smirked. "And that, Mr. Brady is why I cam here…"

Michael swallowed the information and shook his head, "If you think I'm going to pull my daughter rout of one of the most influential schools in Massachusetts – you're sadly mistaken, son…."

Reid didn't hesitate, "Transfer her to Spenser Academy."

"Why Spenser?" Michael questioned, Reid grinned pulling something out of his pocket. He placed it on the hard oak desk and slid it in front of Michael Brady.

"Because my family is looking to make a generous donation to your campaign,"

* * *

**Hm, could this come back and bite Reid in the ass? Or will it work? We shall see... please REVIEW! :)**


	17. For Us

**A/N: **A little bit of an updating/posting splurge here. I had this chapter all written out manually but just had to find the urge to type it. And what was today? See first sentence... lol! Enjoy.

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**Chapter 16 – For Us**

Isobel set her book to the side; she was getting a headache from staring at the small print on the page. Classes had just gotten out about thirty minutes ago; she found that being the girlfriend of one of the most popular and prestigious boys of Massachusetts was a lot more than what she had prepared herself for.

She didn't mind though. She didn't even blink when girls said cruel things about him just to piss her off. Isobel told them not to waste their breath because nothing they could say could change the way she felt about Reid. And that was the truth.

Resting in to her pillows she enjoyed the peace of her empty dorm room. It was times like these she was glad she didn't have a roommate anymore.

Her peace was disturbed by a knock on the dorm door. Isobel glanced at the clock. There was no way Reid was here already. Spenser had probably just gotten out; Reid had about forty-five minutes before he would be knocking at her door.

Puzzled, she pulled herself off of the bed. She didn't talk to anyone anymore. The only people she talked to were usually teachers or people who didn't attend Florence.

She neared the door a bit frightened, she didn't know what to expect. The last time this happened her parents had shown up with doctors ready to take her away to the Gloucester hospital.

But that was not going to happen again. She was the happiest that she had ever been. She wouldn't let her parents ruin that, not with their high-political bullshit.

Her small hand grasped the door knob, hesitation creeped up her arm and she couldn't move. A million terrible thoughts ran through her mind and only one made her stay sane. The thought that maybe it was Reid. Maybe he had gotten off early and decided to surprise her.

That was the only thought that fueled her to open the door. Swallowing her fear she opened the large oak door. She stared at the person on the other side as if he were the spawn of Satan himself. She didn't know whether to scream or cry.

After a short paused she blinked, "What are you doing here?"

"Came to see my little girl," The man stated coming in to the room, uninvited.

"There are no cameras here Michael; you can drop the act…"

"What act? Can't a father come visit his own daughter?"

"No,"

"I haven't seen you in awhile, Isobel. I was concerned."

"That's the stupidest thing I think I've ever heard you say. Would you please get to the point where you leave?"

"How was the treatment?"

"Like you care," The dark haired girl replied bitterly, her eyes diverting away from the man she had once known as her father.

"I do care, Izzy."

"Don't call me that," She stepped away from him.

He had first called her Izzy years ago when he had really cared about her well being, not when it was suitable for him. Before the struggle for political power, before it all went to his head. She didn't like him using it now, it felt tainted.

"Tell me what's been going on in you life, Isobel." Michael's gaze scanned over the room. She was sure he was scrutinizing all of her choices, in clothes, in classes, in everything, just as he had for the last year and a half of o her life.

"Why are you doing this to me?" Isobel asked sounding much like a tortured soul. Things were just starting to look up for her; she didn't want to have to deal with him. And she certainly didn't want him around when Reid showed up at the door.

"Is it so hard for you to appreciate the fact that I came all the way down here to visit you, perhaps maybe see what has been going on in your life?" Michael asked his voice showing his frustrations. He used to be so much better at this, he thought. He used to be able to sway anyone to his side of the argument, was he losing his touch?

"Yes,"

"Isobel, I just wanted to see how your life was going at Florence,"

"Terrible," She answered shortly.

"That's what he said," Michael bit down on his bottom lip, not realizing what he had just said.

"He?" Isobel stood up straighter. "Who is _he_?"

"No one," Michael waved her off, one arm over his chest the other playing with the stubble on his chin.

"Do you have someone spying on me?" Isobel asked roughly. Michael didn't confirm nor deny this and Isobel's eyes widened. "Oh my God! You do!"

Michael's lips twisted upwards, though he refrained from telling her that it was her boyfriend that had told him. It was her boyfriend who had come to see him and told him and bribed him. He shrugged his shoulders and leaned towards her.

"I hear you're dating a Son of Ipswich," His lips twisted in to a grin, Isobel's face did the opposite.

"I hate you," She muttered angrily. "I thought I was here to stay away from you and that woman."

"That woman is your mother, Isobel." Michael put his foot down.

"Some mother she is," The girl snorted shaking her head. "What a joke this family turned out to be, huh, _dad_…" She fell on to her bed, staring up at the ceiling. "Your perfect little family is really as fucked up and dysfunctional as the rest of the world's…."

Her words were bitter and Michael didn't care for her tone. He stomped his foot down roughly and Isobel looked at him, their eyes meeting for a fraction of a second before Michael decided that he was going to make her miserable if she didn't watch herself.

"Your boyfriend won't like it if you piss me off," Michael stated shaking his head. "He won't get what he wanted,"

"Excuse me?" Isobel was confused now.

"Reid Garwin, I do believe that's his name, isn't it?"

"What the hell are you talking about?"

"He came to see me today," Michael let his hands fall to his sides; Isobel sat up on her bed, making eye contact with the man that was supposed to love her unconditionally.

"Reid?" Isobel's face fell. "My Reid?"

"Oh yes, your precious, secret boyfriend, which you've been keeping from your mom and dad…" Michael shook his head. "He asked me to transfer you to Spenser Academy," Isobel's eyes perked up and Michael's face twisted in to a wicked grin. "I had half-a-mind to toss him out on his ass, until he made an offer I just couldn't refuse."

"Offer?" Isobel felt a familiar prick in her nose, the feeling she usually got right before the water-works turned on.

"He made quite a generous donation to my campaign on behalf of his family,"

"No,"

Isobel couldn't believe that Reid would really bribe her father. She stared at him shaking her head in disbelief. Michael smirked and pulled out the check that was signed by a Meredith Garwin, Pay to the order of Michael Brady. She felt her heart jump to her throat.

She couldn't stand to look at him anymore, "Get out," She pointed to the door. Michael didn't budge. "Get out, get out NOW!" She pushed, getting off of her bed and viciously directing him to the door.

Michael smirked, "Pack your things, Izzy, you're going to Spenser,"

That was the last thing Michael Brady said to his daughter before she slammed the door in his face. Isobel angrily grabbed her phone and dialed Reid's number. She was sure he was on his way, but she wanted him there now. She wanted to scream and curse and yell in his face for doing this behind her back.

She was so angry; tears were sliding down her face in a hasty rush to meet the cleft of her chin. She waited for him to answer and when he did she tried to play it cool.

"Babe, you ok?" Reid's voice sounded a little further away than usual.

"I'm fine, can you hurry up though, I need to talk to you."

"Is everything ok?" Reid questioned, his tone worried for his girlfriend.

"Fine, just hurry…"

She hung up without telling him anything more. She knew that he would be ready to scream at her for being so blunt and making him worry, but she'd be ready to scream right back.

What gave him the right to go to her father's place of work and bribe him? He was no better than her ex-boyfriend or the other politicians that accumulated in Massachusetts. She wished she could get away from it all. She didn't want anything to do with them anymore.

She paced her bedroom floor waiting for him to arrive. He was at her door within ten minutes; she didn't want to know how he got there so fast, so she didn't ask.

She opened the door and a not-so-pleased Reid Garwin stood on the other side of her door. He pushed past her in to the room and turned back around sharply to stare at her. He could see the tear stains on her cheeks and immediately his angry exterior faltered.

He stepped closer to her and she backed away, "Stop," She held up her hands to him. "I've got something on my mind and we need to discuss it now, before I get even more pissed off…"

"You're pissed off?" Reid asked. "About what?"

"Did you go see my father?" She asked him carefully, wanting to make sure that he told her the truth.

Reid stared at her in shock; she wasn't supposed to know that he went to go see her father. No one was supposed to know except for Tyler. He couldn't lie to her, he couldn't find it in him to lie.

"Yes,"

"Why?" She asked him, her voice strained. "Why did you go see that bastard?"

"Because, I wanted to talk to him, Is…" Reid confessed. "I wanted to see the man for what he was…"

"And bribe him?" Isobel couldn't stand to keep it in any longer.

Reid blinked, his mouth hanging open like a fish out of water. She shook her head knowing that it was true. She had seen the check. She had seen the thousands of dollars that his mother willingly signed over for her son. She shook her head angrily.

"I can't believe you would do something like that Reid!" She shouted angrily. "That makes you no better than _them_!"

Reid's jaw set, he didn't want to hear that he was like those people. He wasn't. Unlike her father and her mother, he hadn't done it for himself. He would have never done something like that for himself.

"How could you be so selfish? So self-absorbed, that you would do something like this!" She was too angry to see what he had really done. "I don't want to see you," She lifted her chin definitely at him.

"I'm not like them, Isobel…" Reid shook his head, reaching out to touch her, but she stepped away as if he had burned her. "I'm not."

"You're a liar." She whispered angrily, the tears in her eyes flowed freely down her beautiful face. "Get out, get out now…" She repeated the same words that she had told her father.

Reid grabbed the door handle; he didn't want to leave, not like this. He didn't want to see her hurting like this, not because of him. If he knew that this would have been the outcome he would have never given Michael Brady the check.

Isobel wrapped her arms around her body, shaking her head vigorously; she didn't want to face the truth. She didn't want to see what was right in front of her. She couldn't read between the lines.

"I'm not like them, Is." He said again firmly. "Because I didn't do this for me…" He paused and watched her stop shaking her head. She stared at him. "I did this for you… I did it for us."

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**Hope you enjoyed, and hopefully you don't miss me too much!**


	18. Calling You

**A/N: **Stop the press! I wrote a chapter to this one, holy cow! Seriously, I don't know what came over me, but it just started writing itself. We'll see what happens. Can I finish this one off? I was only hoping for Twenty Chapters. Let's see if I can do it! :)

**Chapter 17 – **_**Calling You**_

Isobel stared at the phone, it was ringing—again. It was probably the twelfth time since she had answered and hung up on him. He had called her all day, but she refused to answer until about the fortieth time when she grabbed the phone, answered, and hung up without saying a word to him.

That was about ten minutes ago. She was angry with him still, really angry. She didn't know what was worse; him going to her father or her father coming to her.

She was finishing up her packing. She'd be starting at Spenser on Monday and she was dreading it. Something she would have giving up anything for just days ago, and she didn't want to do it anymore.

Things were not going how she had hoped. She was supposed to be happy again, and she was until this happened. She had felt wanted and needed and now she didn't feel those things.

The phone ran again and she picked it up, staring at the screen where it displayed Reid's name. She contemplated answering it, listening to him, but she couldn't. She knew if she heard his voice she would probably forgive him, even though she was furious with him. Just his voice alone would sooth her.

Reid laid on his bed repeatedly trying to call his girlfriend. It was no use; she was ignoring his phone calls. He couldn't stand it, it was driving him mad.

The dorm door opened and Tyler let the arm full of books and papers fall on to his bed. He rolled his eyes and snatched the phone from the blonde's grasp. Reid reacted by trying to grab it back, but wasn't quick enough.

"What the hell, Ty?" Reid's voice cracked softly.

"You're not going to fix this by calling her every minute," The brunette declared annoyed. Reid had missed two more days of school, and was starting to get whiny and annoying.

"It's been every couple of minutes," Reid stated grabbing his phone back and holding it to his chest.

"Not any better,"

"Every hour?"

"How about you give her some time?" Tyler offered.

Reid scowled at his best friend, "You're supposed to be on my side!"

"I am on your side, Reid." Tyler sat down at the edge of his friend's bed. "That's why I'm telling you this."

"Shut up, Tyler…" Reid growled angrily.

He pushed himself out of the bed. Standing up on his own two feet he reached over and grabbed Tyler's keys and headed for the door. Tyler got up and followed him.

"Where the hell are you going"

"Out," Reid replied trotting down the stairs.

"Where?"

"Leave me alone Tyler," He shoved the double doors open.

"Don't do anything stupid, please…" Tyler followed him out to the black Hummer.

"Like what?" Reid looked back at him. Tyler gave him a serious look. Reid shook his head.

He didn't even bother to say anything in return; instead he got in the SUV and took off.

Reid drove the ten minute distance to his house. One of the last places he really wanted to be. But, he felt alone. He felt unwanted, the same way he always felt at home for so many years. He looked up at the large house and sighed.

He walked in and trudged up to his room. He pulled out the bottle of whiskey he always kept hidden. He hated himself; he hated that he was turning in to his father.

Reid was never one to flaunt his money around. That was one of the reasons he didn't have his own car. He didn't want one. He didn't have to have designer names, it didn't matter to him. It never did.

And here he was using his money in away his father would. The fix things just like Joseph Garwin. A man Reid swore he wouldn't be. Work, money and power would never come before his family, friends and life. He used it to fix a problem, how could he do that?

How could he be just like him?

He took a swig from the bottle. The more he thought about it, the more he decided to drink.

Isobel stared at her phone. It hadn't rung in three hours. A part of her was relieved, but more of her was worried. Reid wasn't the kind of person who just gave up. That wasn't his style.

She licked her lips and wondered if she should call him. She wanted to hear his voice to make sure that he was ok. She couldn't look at herself if something was wrong.

After a long debate with herself, Isobel picked up her phone and called him. She had to know he was ok, she just had too. It would kill her inside if something happened to Reid.

It ran several times before going to his voicemail. She figured that he hadn't heard it, or maybe he was just staring at it in shock? She wasn't sure, so she tried it again.

"Hey, you got Reid, leave a message…"

That was all she got after three rings. Isobel searched her phone for Tyler's number and found it. She waited for him to pick up and after two long rings, he did.

"Tyler, its Isobel."

"Isobel?" His voice sounded relieved. "How are you?"

"Tyler, where is Reid?"

Confused Tyler coughed, "He's been trying to call you all day,"

"He stopped three hours ago, Tyler, where is he?"

"I—I don't know…"

"What do you mean you don't know?" She stuttered over her words. "Isn't he in the dorm with you?"

"He—he took off at lunch today. I came by to bring him his work, he jacked my keys and left."

"DO you have nay idea where he is or where he'd go?"

"Honestly, I thought he was going to come see you,"

"He hasn't' shown up, think…" She paused, her lips pressed together. "Where else would he go?"

Tyler paused for a second, and thought, "Isobel…"

"Tyler, just help me please. I'm worried. I called him twice, no answer."

"He didn't answer?"

Isobel was a bit put off by Tyler's tone. He didn't sound so sure of himself, and she didn't like that. She confirmed what he had said and Tyler's stomach fell to his feet. If Reid saw that Isobel was calling he would have answered in a heart beat. He would have dropped everything to pick up the phone.

"I think I might… I think I might know where he is…" Tyler chewed his bottom lip. "I'll call you back in twenty minutes,'

"Ten," Isobel stated shortly.

"Fine, ten minutes, I'll call you back…"

Isobel hung up the phone more stressed than when she had original made the call. She didn't know what to expect, but she prayed that he was OK. She didn't want anything bad to happen to Reid. That was the last thing she wanted. Could she make it ten minutes knowing he might be in trouble? She thought for a moment and realized she didn't really have a choice.

Tyler materialized outside of the Garwin Manor. His truck was, thankfully, in the driveway. That was definitely a good sign. He hurried in to the house, his heart hammering desperately, remembering the last time he came here in search of his best friend.

He found him, in his room, almost dead. He hoped that this time would be different. He tried to think as positively as he could, but right now, it just wasn't working.

"Reid?" He called out his bet friend's name. No answer. He took the stairs two at a time, "Reid!" Still nothing.

Tyler barged in to Reid's room, praying to the Almighty above that he was not lying on his floor like he had been only a few weeks ago. He searched around the room—nothing. Panicked he summoned the power; this was the only way he could find him without going absolutely mad. He let the power consume him as he searched for Reid's energy. He found it and used to materialize where his best friend was.

When his eyes fell blue again he was staring at Reid. He was sitting in a dark room, a bottle of whiskey in his hand, a razor blade in the other. He was just staring at it, no wrist or other body part exposed. There was no blood, Tyler was right on time.

"Reid," The blonde looked up at him, his eyes blood shot and glassy. "What are you doing?"

"Drinking away the pain," He gave a lazy smirk. "There's nothing left." He gave a painful smile. "I decided I'd drink myself to death, instead of trying to kill myself…" He tossed the razor blade on to the desk.

"Reid, c'mon that's not true…"

"It is," Reid guzzled another swig of the amber liquid. "I'm just like him, Tyler…"

Tyler was confused for a moment, but then where they were sank in; Reid's father's home office. The door was only open when Meredith got drunk and wanted to wallow in her self-pity. Reid almost never stepped foot inside of this room, except on occasion to make sure his mother was still breathing.

"You're nothing like him, Reid,"

"You're wrong." Reid pointed out. "I'm just like him,"

Tyler fell in to the dusty chair in front of the blonde. He knew any minute, Isobel would be calling him, she would be wondering how Reid was. Reid took another swallow of his whiskey as Tyler's phone rang.

The brunette boy jumped up and grabbing his phone, he saw Isobel's name and answered it.

"_I told you to call me in ten minutes, Tyler Simms, why haven't you called?"_

"I'm sorry, I'm with him now." Reid looked up and met Tyler's gaze.

"_Where is he?_

"His house," Tyler murmured his eyes downcast.

"_I'm coming now,"_

"I don't think that's a good idea,"

"_Why not, is he ok?"_ Isobel pressed.

"It's really not, Ok? He's fine, but he's drunk… really drunk."

"I'm not drunk. Who the hell are you talking to?" Reid asked angrily.

"_Let me talk to him,"_ Isobel felt her hearth beating quicker.

"Maybe you should wait until tomorrow, when he's sobered up," Tyler did not want Reid to say something he might regret, which he usually did when he was plastered.

This wasn't the way Isobel needed to see him or speak to him. It just wouldn't be him.

"Who the hell is on the phone, Tyler?" Reid demanded.

"_Let me talk to him, Tyler, maybe it'll help?"_ Isobel suggested

"Hold on," He mumbled. Now he could definitely see how these two were good together. They were both pretty damn stubborn. He handed the phone to Reid and waited to see what would transpire between the two.

"Hello?" Reid questioned staring at Tyler.

"_Reid, it's me Isobel,"_

Reid sat back down in the old chair; he couldn't believe he was finally hearing her voice. It sounded so heavenly. He wished that he could see her. Somehow, just the sound of her voice made everything seem better, but he still felt lost.

"Isobel," He said her name so breathlessly that it made her nose sting and her eyes tear up. He was trying to find words to say to her but nothing would come out. After a few short seconds of silence he spoke, "I—I've been calling you,"


	19. Forgiveness

**A/N:** Wow, I thought I posted this chapter already, but I guess I hadn't. OH WELL, now you get two chapters today. I will post Chapter 19 later today! :)

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**Chapter 18 – **_**Forgiveness **_

Tyler watched as several emotions washed over Reid's face as he spoke with his girlfriend. Emotions that the blue eyed brunette had never seen cross the blonde's face before. A small smile crept on to his lips at the thought of what Isobel had done for his best friend.

"Why didn't you answer?" Reid's voice cracked which made him look up and meet the intense blue gaze of his best friend.

"_Reid, I'm really upset with you still…"_ Isobel stated.

"I know," Reid diverted his gaze from Tyler and rested his head on his forearm. "I'm turning in to him Iz and I don't like it."

"_Turning in to who, Reid?"_ Isobel was slightly confused. Was he saying he was turning in to her father? If so, that didn't make any sense to her at all.

"My father." The blonde squeezed his eyes closed.

Tyler leaned forward hoping that Reid would get through this. The topic of his father was a very difficult subject for him to talk about; let alone to admit that he was turning in to what his father was.

"_You're not turning in to your father, Reid."_ Isobel said matter-of-factly.

"I used money to get what I want…" He paused. "That's not me. That's not who I am." Reid looked up, Tyler could see the watery silver-blue eyes hurting.

"_Why'd you do it?"_ Isobel asked.

"I wanted you to be happy, Iz, I wanted us to be happy…"

Isobel sat on her bed listening to Reid put himself out there for her. As if the blonde hadn't opened up enough to her, he was deviling even deeper in to who he was.

"Reid," She spoke his name softly. "Why didn't you talk to me about this first?"

There was a pause on his end, "I don't know, Iz…" The dark haired girl pushed her hair out of her face, not sure of what to make of Reid's words. "It was instinctive."

She could tell he was starting to sober up. He was taking his time answering her questions; he was being careful—making sure that he didn't say the wrong thing to her.

"I didn't mean to hurt you, baby…" She could hear the pain in his voice, and it was eating her up. "That wasn't my intention. I thought you'd be happier… here at Spenser… with me."

Isobel felt her eyes become wet. She knew earlier that if she spoke to him, it'd be hard to stay mad at him. What he was saying comforted her. It was the truth and she could tell by his tone that it was. She felt a small smile tug at her lips.

"I would be,"

"I'm sorry that I hurt you, I never meant to."

Isobel's heart thudded in her chest, her stomach twisted and she found herself forgiving him. She couldn't stay mad at this, could she? She shook her head and fought back the tears.

"I forgive you," She whispered. "But Reid," She held for a long pause. "No more…"

"I promise," He replied quickly.

Isobel spoke to him for a few more minutes, she told him that she would come up to see him tomorrow and that he'd better go to classes on Monday. Reid agreed before hanging up the phone.

Tyler sighed to himself as Reid slid the phone back over to him. The glazed over look on his face had disappeared. The brunette inspected his best friend, waiting for him to say something—anything.

Those cerulean blue eyes met his, "Thank you."

Tyler stared at him for a long, hard moment, "You're welcome."

Reid stood up, "I don't want to be like him, Ty."

The brunette nodded his head, "You're not, Reid." He assured him.

"The using, the drinking, the money…" He ran a hand through his messy blonde locks. "I can't shake it."

"You can. You can beat this." Tyler was standing up now as well, his hands resting on top of the mahogany desk between them. "You don't have to go to the extremes your dad did, Reid. You can beat this, I know you can."

"How can you be so sure?"

"Reid, I'm your best friend for a reason. And I'm pretty sure with Isobel around it'll be easier for you." Tyler walked around to the other side of the desk to come face to face with the blonde Son. "You'll be too distracted to be self-destructive."

Reid let out a heavy breath, "What the hell did I ever do to deserve a best friend like you?"

Tyler laughed and shrugged, "You got pretty damn lucky, I guess…"

Reid grinned and pulled his younger friend in to a tight hug.

By the next morning Tyler woke up to a very annoying repetitive sound. He rolled on to his side and opened his eyes groggily. His eyes shot wide open at the sight of Reid's empty bed, he flung his shoulders forward—to sit up. His mind began to race wondering where the hell his best friend was.

"Ty? Ty!?" Reid's muffled voice came from their small half-bath. "Tyler?! Get the door, you lazy ass…" A wave of relief washed over the brunette.

"Coming!" He called out.

He sleepily fumbled his way to the door. His tan handed reached out grasping the handle he pulled the door open, his eyes grew wide with shock seeing his best friend's girlfriend on the other side of the door.

"Isobel!" He yelped trying to hide himself behind the large oak door. He had only been wearing a pair of boxers, and didn't expect to see a girl on the other side of his dorm door.

Isobel laughed, brushed her bangs out of her face coyly, "Hey Tyler," She tried to hide her giggles by putting a hand to her mouth.

"H—Hey c'mon in…." He tried hiding further as she stepped in to their fairly messy dorm.

Tyler hurriedly grabbed a pair of sweat pants that were lying on the floor and a slipped in to them without a second though. He closed the door and searched for a shirt. All the while, Isobel tried her best to not laugh at his obvious discomfort.

"Put some clothes on in front of the lady, Ty… geez…" Reid ribbed him with a grin on his face as he exited the bathroom.

Tyler blushed several shades of crimson, grabbed a t-shirt and pushed Reid out of the way, closing the bathroom door behind him. Isobel let out a short laugh after Tyler disappeared; Reid's grin widened.

"He's so cute…" She contained herself meeting Reid's soft gaze. He gave her that infamous smirk.

"In to the roommate now?"

She winked at him, "Get over here…" She demanded.

Reid didn't argue, he crossed the room and pulled her against his chest. He held her there in his arms—tightly. He didn't want to let go. He took in a deep breath, taking in her sweet smell. He had gone several days without the smell of her cucumber melon shampoo and her Japanese blossom body spray. He pressed his lips in to her chestnut brown hair.

"God, I missed you," He breathed.

"I missed you, too." She admitted, she placed her hands on his narrow hips, pulling away just slightly so she could take a good look at his handsome face. A fluttering in the pit of her stomach said it all, and she leaned forward to kiss him softly on the lips.

"If that's what fighting with you is going to feel like in the future… I don't ever want to fight again." He pouted.

"You worried me half-to-death yesterday," She shifted the topic. "I don't want that to happen again." Isobel pulled her bottom lip between her teeth. "Ever."

"Promise," Reid muttered pressing his lips to her forehead.

"Good," She smiled. "So…" She glanced down at the ground and then back up at him, "I've got this huge truck full of my crap out front and I'm thinking I'm going to need at least another couple pairs of hands…."

"Oh, you're just using me for my muscles?" He quirked an eyebrow up at her.

"If she wanted to use someone for their muscles I highly doubt that she'd be smooching all over you…" Tyler's sardonic tone rang from the bathroom door.

Isobel laughed and glanced over Reid's shoulder to see his best friend dressed now, and looking a little more in his element. Reid rolled his eyes and shook his head.

"Be quiet Baby Boy…. And just for that smart ass comment, you have to help!"

Tyler shrugged, "She's going to need some more muscle than your scrawny ass…."

Isobel laughed and Reid glared down at her playfully. She rested her forehead against his chest and then took a peek at Tyler again.

"Think I'll need a couple more muscles then…"

Reid laughed at Tyler who frowned, "I'll call Caleb and Pogue."

Pogue and Caleb came to help and Sarah and Kate came to help Isobel supervise. Isobel had her dorm key in hand and was ready to move. It took several trips but they were able to get all of Isobel's things in to her new room without much of a hassle.

The group decided to go to Nicky's later that night to celebrate Isobel's arrival. Everyone left her room with the exception of Reid who was more than happy that his girlfriend was now within constant reach. Instead of a lonely 45 minute drive it was now only a short 3 minute walk to her room.

Isobel laid down next to Reid, her head resting comfortably on his chest, and her arms wrapped around him. Reid gladly accepted her warm body next to his and slipped his arms around her as well.

"I could really get used to this…" He mused.

Smiling she snuggled closer to him, "Me too,"

"I've been thinking," Reid swallowed slowly resting with one arm behind his head.

"About?"

"A lot of things," He pressed his lips together firmly. "But mostly about what I've been doing to myself… so I've decided that I'm done drinking."

"What?"

"I don't need to drink. Y'know? I'm only a teenager… I've got my whole life ahead of me. I don't want to go through it being wasted and so depressed and like _him_." He shrugged his shoulders. "I can't be like him; I refuse to be like him, Iz…" Reid pressed his lips in to her hair. "I don't want to use carelessly anymore…"

The last part slipped out before he could stop himself. He hadn't meant to say that, and he knew she had picked up on it when her brows furrowed together confused.

"Use? She asked. "Use what?" Reid sucked in a breath sharply. "Are you using drugs?" She questioned quickly sitting up and giving him a hard stare.

Reid sat up too—slowly. He shook his head, "No, of course not…"

"Then what?" She pressed. Reid didn't say anything. He looked off to his left and she nudged him. "Reid!"

He closed his eyes and pressed his lips together tightly. He should have kept his big mouth closed. He didn't want to tell her about him and the rest of the guys, not yet. He didn't feel like he was stable enough to handle himself if she decided she couldn't handle being with someone who had—abilities.

"Isobel," He turned to look at her, her face strewn with displeasure. "There's something about me that not many people know about…"

"Did you hit your head?" She asked touching his forehead. "Do you have amnesia or something, we've already talked about this…"

"No," Reid shook his head. "There's something else…"

"Ok, like?"

"It's really hard to explain." He licked his dry lips and thought about how he was going to tell her. "There are stories about us," Isobel's lips pulled together in a purse. Several thoughts ran through her mind at the same time, until Reid cleared up who he was talking about. "Us being: Tyler, Caleb, Pogue and myself." He saw her face relax a bit and decided to continue. "We're descendants of five families that came here during the Witch Hunts in England…"

"I think I've heard about that…" She nodded her head. "But what does that have to do with…"

"Let me finish…" He held up a finger. "The reason our ancestors came here was to save themselves, because they had unique abilities…" He looked down at his hands. "Abilities that they have passed on throughout the generations to the first born male of each Son..."

"Abilities?" Her face didn't show any emotion except for confusion.

"Yes, for the lack of a better term…." He sighed. "We're witches."

Isobel didn't know what to think about this. Was he kidding? Or Lying? Trying to make her laugh? She didn't understand. She opened her mouth to question him, but he stopped her.

"I know, you're probably thinking something along the lines that I'm either a liar or joking, but I'm not." He sighed heavily. "Name something you want right now."

"Anything?" She asked carefully.

"Anything," He confirmed.

"Ok, honestly…" She looked around her room. "I'm too tired to unpack…"

Reid smirked and shook his head, "Piece of cake…" He turned her body. "Watch me for a second, don't be afraid…." He told her softly.

Isobel held on to her knees and watched his face contently. She watched as the whites of his eyes and the blue of his irises turned pitch black. She didn't feel different, but a bit shocked, and kind of frightened at the dullness behind his eyes. He was concentrating she could tell, and she waited for him to stop.

"Done," He mused as the black faded from his eyes and she sat staring at him, her mouth slightly open. "Iz?"

"Your eyes," She whispered.

"Yeah, that's a weird little side effect, they only turn black when we're using…" He grinned. "Look around," He was very shocked to see her stick around after his little show. He was expecting her to go running and screaming out of the door as soon as it happened.

Isobel turned around and all of her boxes were gone, and her computer and stereo were set up, along with her TV. He lifted his chin.

"All of your clothes are put up, just how you like it."

"How did you do that?" She asked getting up from the bed to look around the room.

She quickly flittered around the room looking for the boxes, but didn't find any. She only found her things put up, exactly how she had them back in Gloucester. She stared back at her boyfriend, her lips parted in shock.

"Reid."

"I told you I wasn't joking…" He pulled himself to his knees, but stayed on the bed. "I figured I had to tell you now before this went any further…" He watched her blank expression. "Iz, you have to tell me what's going through your head right now."

She looked him in the eye, "I don't know what I'm thinking…." She admitted.

He held his hand out to her; Isobel looked at his hand and slowly took it, letting him pull her closer to her new bed. She stared him in the face.

"This doesn't change who I am, Iz… or how I feel about you."

She swallowed slowly and nodded her head, "I know,"

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**So, the cats out of the bag. Like it still, forgot about it? Let me know!**


	20. The Right One

**A/N: **Here's the next chapter, only one left. This one is slowly coming to an end. Thank Goodness! I've been waiting for it! I hope you all have enjoyed it. I know I have!.

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**Chapter 19 – **_**The Right One**_

Isobel stared at the door in shock. She really hadn't been expecting the news Reid had given her. So much had been going on and to add this in to the mix, her life was becoming some daily soap opera.

_Cancer in Remission?_ Check. _Suicide attempt?_ Check. _Meet cute boy in hospital?_ Check. _Said cute boy ends up your boyfriend?_ Check. _Blackmail and bribery?_ Double Check. _Boyfriend has magical powers?_ Check.

Her life was definitely not normal. It had been getting further and further away from anything normal; especially in the last couple of weeks.

She was supposed to meet with Reid and Tyler in front of the dorms in a half hour to go to Nicky's to celebrate. Reid didn't want to leave. But he did, he knew that Isobel would need some time to think this all through. But she didn't really want it, she didn't want to dwell on it.

She could accept that her boyfriend was some kind of mythical being, to know that someone like him could exist. Stranger things have happened, haven't they? She thought hard for a moment, but she couldn't think of anything.

She motivated herself to get up. She had to search for something to wear; she hadn't thought about what the others were wearing. That's what she needed to do, not think about it. Keep her mind off of anything that might give her a headache.

Reid answered the phone on the second ring. He knew it was Caleb before he even saw his screen. Without further hesitation he greeted his best friend.

"Hi Caleb,"

"Reid, why the hell are you using?"

Reid smirked as he sauntered down the hall, "I told Iz…"

There was a pause on the other line.

"Excuse me?"

"I told Isobel about the Covenant,"

Another pause occurred, this time a little longer than the last.

"What part of Covenant of Silence do you not comprehend?"

Reid scoffed, "So you can tell Sarah and Pogue can tell Kate, but I can't tell MY girlfriend… That's bullshit…"

The oldest Son was quiet for a moment, "Sarah's life was in danger, Reid… Kate's too…."

"_My_ life is in danger," Reid announced. "_Mine_. This is my life as much as it is yours, Caleb. I trust Isobel and I know she'll keep our secret. I know it!" Caleb didn't say a word. "I'll see you at Nicky's."

With that Reid hung up the phone. He could feel his heart hammering in his chest. It wasn't unusual for him to tell Caleb off, but this time it was at least over something important.

He pushed his dorm door open and found Tyler lying on his bed with his laptop open. The brunette looked up at him his eyes accusing. Reid closed the door with his foot and fell on to his bed.

"What's that look for?" Reid smirked.

"Caleb called to ream _me_ about using…** me**…" Tyler narrowed his eyes.

"Ah," Reid pulled a pillow under his head and sighed. "I told Isobel."

"What does using have to do with—" Tyler cut himself off when realization smacked him in the face. He was quiet for a second. "You told her?"

"Yes," Reid rolled on to his side to face his best friend.

"And?"

"And what?"

"What'd she say? How'd she react?" Tyler asked a bit excited.

Reid grinned, "She didn't freak." He shrugged. "Which is great; she was actually kind of calm about the whole thing." The brunette closed his lap top waiting for more. "I left so she could let it sink in."

"You don't think she'll run away screaming, do you?"

"I think she would have done it already if she was planning too, but who knows." Reid took a deep breath. "I hope she doesn't, but I just want her to be comfortable with it, that's why I had to tell her now." He stared at the door. "I want her to go run and screaming now, rather than later."

Tyler nodded his head agreeing; "I guess that's how we know when we've found the right girl, huh?"

Reid smirked and tilted his head to look at his best friend, "I guess so, man."

Isobel walked down the staircase, she had been trying to figure out what to say to Reid, or the rest of the guys for that matter. She had found out that all four of them had these powers, but Reid told her only so much. He told her that they would talk about the rest of it later.

When later was, she wasn't quite sure.

She hoped soon, because she had a thousand-and-one questions brewing in her head. She wanted to get all the answers, because, well, that's just how she was.

She walked outside and saw the Hummer idling near the end of the steps and Reid leaning against the handrail waiting for her. As soon as he saw her he pushed himself off and moved to her. She couldn't help but notice how graceful he was as he skipped a step every time he moved; not a hesitation or worry at all.

"You're smiling like you thought I wasn't going to come…" Isobel pointed out giving him an innocent peck on the lips.

"The thought crossed my mind," He admitted. "A time or two in the last half hour."

Isobel laughed a bit and the two slid in the backseat of the Hummer. Tyler started driving and glanced back to give her a small smile.

"So I hear the secrets out?" He started conversationally.

Isobel glanced at Reid and he shrugged his shoulders carelessly, "Uh, yeah…" She nodded her head.

"It's nice not having to hide it," Tyler stated more to himself than to anyone else.

Reid pulled Isobel's body closer, "Sarah and Kate both know, too." He informed her.

Isobel stared at him for a second and smiled, she was glad to know that she wasn't the only one who was going to have to keep a huge secret from the rest of the world. She settled in to the leather seat a little more comfortably now.

She was worried about what Caleb would say about the fact that she knew about their secret. Would he be angry? He seemed like the kind of person who would want to enforce the rules of the Covenant.

"Caleb's not going to be mad at you, is he?" She voiced her concern to her boyfriend.

Reid laughed a bit and kissed her temple, "You let me worry about the fearless leader, and you just worry about having a good time, ok?"

Upon arriving at Nicky's Isobel had definitely relaxed more than she thought she would by this point. She didn't feel that squeamish feeling she had earlier, Tyler and Reid had helped her out a lot.

Stepping foot inside of the bar she was pulled to a table where Caleb and Pogue sat with their respective girlfriends. The air around the table seemed to be tense. That was until Reid decided to lighten the mood by challenging the boys to a game of pool.

Reluctantly, Caleb and Pogue agreed and were dragged off by Reid and Tyler. Isobel looked nervously from one face to the other. Sarah and Kate were both slightly on edge, and Isobel wasn't sure if it was because of the fact that they knew she knew, or if they weren't sure if she knew or not.

"How do you like your new dorm, Isobel?" Sarah asked breaking the ice first.

The dark haired girl smiled, "It's definitely different, but the same… if that makes any sense at all…"

Kate and Sarah both laughed, "It makes perfect sense!"

Things seemed to fall in to place after that. Sarah, Kate and Isobel were talking animatedly, while the boys played pool and entertained themselves.

Reid glanced over at the table and saw Isobel laughing, he felt a wave of relief wash over him and he tapped Caleb with the pool stick. The dark haired young man looked at him, a look of apprehension on his features.

"You can't still be pissed at me, seriously Cal…." Reid groaned giving his best pouting face to the older brother.

"I just think you went about it the wrong way, you should have talked to us about it…"

"Maybe I should have, but it just kind of came up in conversation." Reid shrugged his shoulders watching Pogue miss his shot.

"How does _that_ just come up in conversation?" Pogue asked looking up at his close friend.

Reid explained to them what he and Isobel were talking about when he let it slip. He also explained to them that he wanted her to know now, because he was pretty sure that she was the one. She was Mrs. Right, and not just Mrs. Right Now.

"Are you sure about this?" Caleb asked.

Tyler grinned at Caleb, "Are you kidding me?" He scoffed. "He talks about her in his sleep!"

Reid groaned and shoved the younger boy, "Shut up Ty…"

"Awe, Cal… our little boy is in love…"

Caleb smirked and shook his head, "You know I can't stay mad at you for too long, blondie…" He bumped shoulders with the lean blonde boy. "Especially when I'm about to school you at your own game…"

Caleb leaned down and made a perfect combo shot, much to the surprise of Reid. The blonde clapped a hand on his shoulder and smiled.

"I've taught you well,"

After the boys came back the girls challenged them to a round of pool, Guys vs. Girls. Isobel had never felt so accepted in her life. She felt like this was a perfect fit for her. Everything seemed to work out so well when she was around Reid and the others.

Like nothing could go wrong.

"Did you have fun tonight?" Reid asked as he walked Isobel to her door.

Isobel smiled and held his hand a little tighter in her grasp, "If it were any better it'd be a fairy tale." She replied jokingly.

Reid kissed her softly and pulled her closer; Isobel stared up at him with a small grin on her face. After talking to Sarah and Kate, she was more intrigued to learn about Reid's capabilities. She pulled him in to her dorm and closed the door.

"Babe, if you wanted to get frisky, all you had to do was say so…"

Isobel laughed at him and took a seat on her bed; she gave the empty spot next to her a pat. Reid sat down carefully and lifted a pale eyebrow at her.

"Come over here," She urged him. "I want to learn more about this 'powers' thing…"

Reid stared at her; he could see the curiosity bouncing around in her beautiful brown eyes. He grinned and nodded his head, agreeing that he would tell her more about the Covenant and the powers that they had.

It seemed like forever passed by them. Every question she had, he answered. Any answer he gave made her ask another question. They bounced back and forth off of each other for what felt like hours.

Isobel was lying on her back, staring up at the ceiling while Reid laid on his side, letting his long slender finger trail over her stomach. She felt a chill ran down her spine as he explained the 'catch' to the powers.

"So if you use too much…" She trailed off.

"You become addicted." Reid nodded his head, catching the worried glance she gave him. "The body wears down with every use of the power after we ascend."

"I swear to God, Reid…" She grabbed his roaming hand and held it to her chest firmly. "I don't want that to happen to you, I can't lose you…"

He smiled at her, genuinely, "You've got nothing to worry about."

"Promise?" She asked him.

He leaned down, pressing his lips firmly to hers.

"Promise."

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**Yay, please make sure to R&R! :) I love hearing from you guys! :)**


	21. Miracle

**A/N: **It's the end. Its finally here. The last chapter sort of wrote itself this morning. I'm glad you all liked this story, and I couldn't possibly do anything drastic like kill someone off. I definitely wanted a happy ending, and I think Reid & Isobel got theirs. YAY! So another story down, and hopefully I'll b e getting back on track with all of them! :)

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**Chapter 20 - **_**Miracle**_

Isobel stared at the large building in front of her, not intimidated by its massiveness. Several weeks ago that would be a different story. She would have entered school with her head hung low—wishing to disappear.

Today, however, was a new day for her, a new start to a good life.

Before Reid she questioned her existence, she didn't know the reason she was put here. Now things were starting to make a little more sense to her. The pieces were finally coming together.

Isobel glanced down at her wrists for a moment and sighed, wondering what her life would have been like without the cancer, without the suicide attempts. She felt a hand slip in to hers and smiled seeing the pale skin of a familiar hand.

Without the cancer—without the suicide attempts, she would have never met Reid. God's hidden angel that helped save her. A blonde haired, blue eyed bad boy who was on a path of destruction, who help rear her of her need to die. The person who made everything alright again.

Isobel squeezed his hand and looked up, meeting those same blue eyes. A grin spread across his face as he leaned in to kiss her. She met him half way and relaxed that much more.

"Ready for the first day of the rest of your life?" He asked quizzically.

The dark haired girl smiled at him with a nod, "I'm ready for anything,"

The blonde grinned at her and pulled her up the steps to the school. She could feel everyone staring at them, mostly the girls. She was waiting for the girls to start whispering back and forth to one another about what a freak she was.

But it never came.

This was a new start, she had to remember. No one knew her hear at Spenser except for Reid, and his friends. Isobel looked up when someone said her name, a small smile formed on her lips when she saw Sarah and Kate waiting for her inside.

"We were wondering where you were, we were getting worried!" Kate grinned looping her arm with Isobel's.

"Seriously, you have first period with us!" Sarah informed her happily. "We'll get you caught up on everything you've missed!"

Reid let Sarah take her away so that the girls could talk, and headed over to his friends, but not before blowing her a kiss and sending a wink in her direction. Isobel flushed brightly and followed Sarah and Kate to the side of the lockers.

"Good morning fellas," Reid beamed to his friends, clamping a hand down on Tyler's shoulder.

A good morning it was too—in Reid Garwin's eyes. He had everything he wanted and everything he needed within arms reach; his three best friends and his girlfriend. He had four of the most amazing people around him that meant more to him than life itself.

"Someone woke up on the right side of the bed this morning," Pogue grinned at his friend, happy to see the blonde happy.

"You could say that," He lifted his chin when he noticed Isobel looking in his direction, a content smile on her face.

He didn't know where he would be now if it wasn't for the pretty brunette girl that was talking quietly with his friends' counterparts. She had helped him find the light when it was dark, she helped him find joy in life again, and most of all she helped him find his strength.

Nothing would teeter his world like it had before, he had found his miracle. She was standing only a few feet away from him, dressed in Spenser uniform, within arms reach. She no longer lived in another city, or went to another school. She was here with him, making a new life for herself, and for him.

The bell rang and Reid glanced at his friends before Isobel walked over to him. She grabbed his hand and tilted her head cutely to the side.

"Ready?" The blonde asked her pulling her close to his side.

Nodding she let him walk her to her first period class, not sure what to expect of the students or the teachers, but now—none of that mattered anymore. She no longer cared what anyone else thought about her, she had the one person who meant everything to her standing beside her.

"Iz," Reid stopped her from walking any further.

Isobel stopped and looked up at him, a hint of curiosity playing in her brown eyes. Reid took both of her hands in his and kissed the tops of them.

"What's up Reid?" She questioned.

"I just," He cleared his throat nervously. "I felt like I needed to tell you this…"

"What?" She was intrigued now, wanting to know what he needed to tell her.

"I was thinking that I'd tell you this somehow all romantic and set the mood," He shook his head sheepishly. "Then I realized that it would be terribly cliché and that's not really my style…"

Isobel stared at him, waiting for him to continue, "Reid… get to the point…"

"Iz, I'm falling in love with you."

The blue of his eyes reflected the light in the hallway, but that didn't make it any more difficult for Isobel to realize that he was telling her the truth. That Reid Garwin was falling in love with her—Isobel Brady.

A ghost of a smile formed on her lips, she dropped his hands and encircled his slim waist, pressing her cheek to his chest. Tilting her chin up just slightly she caught his questioning glance.

"I'm falling in love with you too, Reid Garwin," She pulled herself to her tiptoes and placed an innocent kiss on his lips.

Reid couldn't fight the grin that was forming on his face. He let his hands rest on her cheeks and stared her in the eye, "You mean everything to me, Isobel—everything."

The dark haired girl bit the corner of her lip, feeling a thousand emotions rushing over her. She could hear Sarah and Kate calling her name and waving her in to the classroom, but she didn't care.

She wanted to stay like this for right now. Happily in the arms of the teenage boy that changed everything for her. The one person who made all the bad seem worth it. Reid Garwin had turned her life around, and she had done the same for him.

"I'll see you after class?" He questioned quietly, a smirk forming on his lips.

"You better believe it." She nodded giving him a lasting kiss until she was literally being dragged away from the blonde boy.

Isobel fell in to class, but not before glancing one last time over her shoulder. He hadn't disappeared, she wasn't dreaming. A grin formed on her lips when he winked at her and she knew then that she had found everything she needed in those cerulean blue eyes.

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**A short one, but a good one I hope. I really appreciate the support on this story, and I love you guys for reviewing and keeping my inspiration alive. I hope to be able to bring another good Covenant fic out there for everyone soon. So we'll see how that goes! :)**

**Leave your review, and MERRY CHRISTMAS and HAPPY HOLIDAYS to everyone! :)  
**


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